


Agro VS Indestructible

by IllMadeKnight



Category: The Tick - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Action, Crossover, Drama, F/M, Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-08-22 14:14:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16599452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IllMadeKnight/pseuds/IllMadeKnight
Summary: When the Council of Mei summons its members all across the multiverse, Indestructible is caught in a petty grudge between Meis and forced to face down with an alternative version of himself.





	1. When Worlds Collide

**Author's Note:**

> A super non-canon work written for fun and based on two of my fics; Soon I Shall Be Indestructible and Blood Sex Sugar Magic. Aphid-Izuku who appears here comes from The Tick vs... MY HERO ACADEMIA! a fic by bejammin2000 and used with his permission.

Izuku tinkered away in the Support Department’s workshop while sipping coffee. After All For One and what had happened with Toga, it was good to just sit back and concentrate on the engineering side of Indestructible. He’d spent most of the summer troubleshooting a mountain of problems that came adding a jet pack to the armor. Indestructible was born to have wings but new problems always rose. How to shrink the jet pack enough? How to solve the overheating problem? How to compensate for the extra weight? It felt like every time he solved an old problem, a new one cropped in its place. 

Occasionally he would shoot worried looks at Mei. 

For the past few days Mei had been… listless. Absentminded. And nervous. Like she was waiting for something. Something big. And terrible. Whenever Izuku asked what was wrong, he got the same answer. Nothing. Izuku knew better then to push Mei and gave her space but… he wished that when Mei finally told him what was wrong, it wouldn’t be too late. 

There was a beep. Was that an alarm? Izuku looked around trying to locate the source of the noise. Mei jumped on her feet.

“Fucking finally!” Mei yelled.

“Oh no.” Izuku said when he saw the look on Mei’s face.

“What?” Mei said.

“Mei. I know that look. I don’t know what you’re planning but… maybe we should just take a deep breath and think this over and not make any rash decisions we’ll regret later. Otherwise I’ll just end up in the hospital again and you get expelled.” Izuku said.

“Not much like there’s much left of you to break after Tsu snapped your spine. Remember that?”

Izuku shuddered. The surgery scars in his back started itching.

“Yeah. I do. I’d love to forget but somebody keeps bringing it up every five minutes.” Izuku said.

“Bring what up? That your first time almost ended with you in a wheelchair?” 

“Yes.” Izuku said coolly.

“Man up, Izuku. At least you got laid. For all of three seconds.” Mei said and turned off the alarm: “Besides, if this goes tits up, we might have an interdimensional war in our hands.”

Izuku blinked.

“… excuse me?”

“No time. Help me. Now!”

Mei started pulling out parts that had been hidden all around their lab. Then she started putting them together without blueprints relying only on her memory. After an hour of assembling the parts started making up what looked like a gate. Izuku stared dumbfounded at what they had built. 

“Mei. What is this?”

“An artificial wormhole.” Mei said.

Izuku looked at the portal. Then at Mei. Then at the portal again.

“… what?”

“It’s the only way we’ve managed to travel between dimensions.” Mei said.

“Mei.”

“Yeah?”

“What in God’s name are you yammering about?! Who’s we?!”

“You don’t have to scream, Izuku. I’m standing right next to you. Jeez. I thought getting laid would’ve emptied your fuck box.” Mei said and put the final part in place: “And who’s we? The Council of Mei. That’s who.”

Izuku stared at her slack jawed. 

“… context please.” Izuku said.

“Sure.” Mei said and threw some salty liquorice in her mouth: “A few years ago Mei from an alternative reality found out how to jump between dimensions.”

“And then what? She formed this… Council of Mei?”

“What? Fuck no. She set herself up as the Bitch Empress of twenty-eight known realities and ruled them with an iron fist. It took the combined efforts of two hundred and nine other Meis to take her down. After the dust had settled and we’d harvested the organs, we set up the Council to make sure that never happened again.”

“Jeez, Mei.” Izuku said and then a terrible thought hit him: “The alarm! Has something like that happened again?!”

“Yeah. The science fair is upon us.” Mei said.

“A science fair?”

“Yeah. We Meis tend to get a bit… antsy without a challenge. So, we hold this fair once a year to keep ourselves on the straight and narrow. Otherwise we might have another Bitch Empress in our hands.”

“So… the only thing that keeps the peace is… a pissing contest?” Izuku said.

“I like to think of it as a dick measuring contest.” Mei said.

Izuku thought about everything that he’d been told. The he looked at the portal. Then at Mei. He started laughing.

“Wanna explain the joke to the rest of us.” Mei said.

“Nice one, Mei. You actually had me going there for a second. Council of Mei? Alternative dimensions? How dumb do you take me for?” Izuku said.

“Uh…”

“Don’t answer that!” Izuku said and returned to his desk: “Now that we’ve all had our big laugh, I have work to do.”

“Not anymore you don’t. You’re coming too.” Mei said.

“Mei. Stop. Just stop. There’s no Council and no alternative dimensions.”

“There totally are! Read some Hawking, you fucking philistine!” Mei yelled and pointed at Hawking’s poster on the lab’s wall: “You’re blaspheming in front of him!”

“You know what I mean!” Izuku yelled back.

“Great! So, we agree. Now get your ass in gear.” Mei said.

Izuku sighed.

“Okay Let’s say I believe you. Let’s pretend that for a second. What do you need me for?”

“Who else I’m going to brag at after I win? And… Indestructible is your invention as well. You deserve half of the glory.” Mei said.

“Mei…” Izuku said touched.

“Yeah.”

“Still no.” Izuku said.

“Fine! Be like that! Sagan! To mommy!”

Sagan’s computer turned on and her pixelated face appeared on screen.

“Yay! We’re finally going to The Ice Hole!” Sagan said.

“I… wait. What did you just say?” Izuku said.

“It’s the City That Mei Built. We call it The Ice Hole.” Mei said.

“Of course, you would.” Izuku said and waved at them: “Have fun.”

“You’re not coming?” Sagan said.

“Daddy’s being a big baby.” Mei said.

“And this big baby would appreciate if his daughter didn’t always pick her mom’s side in these little jokes.” Izuku said.

“Would I ever play a joke on you, Izuku?” Mei said insulted.

“Yes.” Izuku and Sagan said.

“Ugh. Screw it. Sagan. Bring the armor.” Mei said.

The suitcase sized casing containing the Indestructible armor floated towards Mei. Mei picked up Sagan’s computer and entered a code to the portal. Izuku made a big deal of not looking.

There was a zap.

Izuku looked up from his work. He was alone in the lab.

“Mei? Sagan?” Izuku said.

The portal was humming and Izuku approached it carefully. The air inside it seemed to be… shimmering. Izuku picked up the nearest wrench and touched the shimmering air inside the portal.

The wrench disappeared.

Izuku pulled the wrench back with a loud yelp and saw… that it was intact. The metal felt cool. He looked at the portal and the carefully and slowly put his hand inside. His hand disappeared but… he could still feel it. 

Someone high-fived him!

Izuku pulled his arm back. He still had two hands. He looked at the portal for a long time and then took a deep breath. He stepped through it. 

There was a brief moment of pain when it felt like his cells were being pulled in a thousand different directions. It was so brief he barely had time to notice it. Then he saw…

A spiraling city build on an asteroid flying through space. A glass sky separated the city from the coldness of space and it was covered in frost. In the center of the city stood a statue of Mei that cast a shadow even on the tallest buildings.

“You sure took your sweet ass time.”

At the gate of the city was Mei. Sitting on the Indestructible casing and playing with her phone. 

“… huh?”

“I’ve been waiting for two hours.” Mei said.

“… what… but… I… you… you’ve been gone for less than three minutes.” Izuku whispered.

“Time’s weird here. Take this.” Mei said and handed Izuku a name tag.

Izuku looked at the tag that read SISBI-18. Then he looked at Mei.

“… Mei.”

“Izuku.”

“… what the fuck is going on?”

“I told you. Science fair.”

“… that was supposed to be a joke.” Izuku said.

“Izuku. My friend. My pal. My man. My partner. Father of my child. I’d never joke about science fairs. Now but on the tag and let’s go win this thing.”

Mei walked through the gates to the city and Izuku followed her nervously. Everything in the city was high-tech and tacky as hell. The people who had built it liked being noticed. A hodge-podge of every science fiction movie he’d ever seen. Flying cars flew past them and electronic billboards were singing praise to Meis. The greatest geniuses of their worlds. The streets were crowded with Meis of varying hairstyles, fashions and scars. Some of them even had artificial limbs. Izuku barely noticed any of that and stared at the statue at the center of it all. 

“… Mei… about that statue…”

“Awesome isn’t it?” Mei said.

“Why does it have to be naked?” Izuku said.

“I…” Mei said and looked at statue: “Huh. Never noticed that before. That is hilarious. Well, Izuku. Unlike you, I’m at peace with my body.”

They kept walking and Izuku felt the panic setting in with every step when everything he thought he knew came crashing down. 

“Mei!”

They turned to see another Mei waving at them and dragging another Izuku with her. Unlike him, the other Izuku didn’t need a knee brace to walk or have his face covered in scars. He was also more muscular and toned. The other Mei on the other hand was a carbon copy of his Mei. Except for the hair which was pink instead of strawberry blonde. Izuku read their nametags. TTVSMHA-18. 

“Mei! What’s up, girl?!” Mei yelled back. 

“Getting ready to win!” The other Mei said and looked at Izuku: “Awesome! You brought him along. You too finally an item?”

“You wish.” Mei said: “Izuku. Meet Mei and her boyfriend Izuku.”

The other Izuku put out his hand.

“Just call me Aphid. Easier that way.” Aphid said.

“… er… Indestructible.” Izuku mumbled.

Aphid looked at his knee brace, maimed hand, scarred face, cauliflower ear and hearing aid. 

“Really? You look pretty breakable to me.” The other Mei said.

“Those are just there to lull everyone into a false sense of security.” Mei said and rubbed her hands: “So, what have you been cooking up?”

“A railgun.” The other Mei said.

“Cute.” Mei said.

“You sound confident.” The other Mei said.

“You would be too if you were packing what I am.” Mei said.

“Funny. I could have sworn you said the same thing last year. How did that work out for you?” The other Mei said.

“That was last year.” Mei said.

“Well… since you’re so confident, want to have another wager?” The other Mei said.

“You can bet your perfect ass I do. This won’t be like last year.” Mei said.

“… what happened last year?” Izuku said.

“She lost exclusive rights to the Ignite name.” The other Mei said.

“Still not over that.” Mei said.

“And that’s nothing to the time she lost to…” The other Mei said. 

“Iceberg Pink.” Aphid said.

“Yeah, yeah. I lost to Iceberg and I’m still paying for it. Keep rubbing it in!” Mei said.

“No. I meant Iceberg is coming.” Aphid said. 

All the Meis ran out of the way when a chariot pulled by robot horses rolled down the streets. Mei wearing a pink fur coat rode it, playing with her phone, blind and deaf to the people she’d almost ridden over flipping her off and calling her a bitch. 

“Oh, for fuck sake. Not her.” Mei sighed.

“Do you have to always cuss so much?” The other Mei said.

“The fuck are you talking about? Just… let’s just hope she doesn’t notice us.” Mei said.

It was a fool’s hope. The moment the chariot riding Mei rode past them, she looked up from her phone and signaled the robot horses to stop. Her nametag read BSSM-17. 

“Mei! Mei! It’s been too long.”

“Eternity is not long enough with you. What do you want, Iceberg?” Mei said.

“I just thought I’d drop by and remind you losers what real success looks like.” Iceberg said and looked at Izuku: “You should really take better care of your Izuku.”

“He can take care of himself.” Mei said.

“Can he now? How’s life with your new Uraraka?” Iceberg said.

“… what?” Izuku said.

Iceberg gave him a nasty grin.

“She hasn’t told you?”

“Don’t.” Mei said.

“She lost a bet with me two years ago and we traded Urarakas. I was getting tired with all the… misconduct.” Iceberg said.

“This year will be different.” Mei said.

“You say that every year. I guess you wouldn’t mind another bet then.” Iceberg said.

The other Mei covered Mei’s mouth.

“I think you should go now, Iceberg.”

“Oh, I’m going. If you need me, just look for the winner.” Iceberg said.

The robot horses came back to life and started puling the chariot. They watched her go.

“I hate that bitch so fucking much.” Mei said.

“Me too.” The other Mei agreed.

What the hell was going on? They had just… switched Urarakas? Had… had he been switched at some point? Izuku had to lean against a wall. Sweat was running down his face. He couldn’t breathe!

“I’m freaking out!” Izuku yelled.

“Man up, Izuku.” Mei said.

Aphid put his hand on Izuku’s shoulder.

“I’ll look after him. You should probably get ready.” Aphid said.

“Will do.” The other Mei said and kissed Aphis square on the lips: “Love you.”

Aphid blushed.

“Mei! Not in front of everyone.”

“Gross.” Mei said.

Aphid helped Izuku into a nearby cafe. It had other Izukus there too and a couple of Tenyas. Aphid helped Izuku sit down and ordered them tea.

“First time, huh? Yeah Freaked me out pretty bad too.” Aphid said.

“… how… how can you be so calm about… this? All of this?” Izuku said.

“After everything I’ve seen with the Tick… The Council isn’t even in the top five. I’ve fought alien nihilists who dress as bunnies. Now that was weird.” Aphid said.

“… aliens exist? Wait. Who’s Tick?”

“You didn’t know Mina was an alien?” Aphid said.

“What?!”

“An alien princess.” Aphid said and shook his head: “And the weirdest part still is that she’s dating Bakugou. And Kirishima. Although I think they’re more into each other than her.”

Izuku could only stare at Aphid.

“Look… if this all too much for you, they have support groups here. Although they’re usually reserved for Izukus who’s dad is All For One.”

“Hisashi is All For One?!”

“In some universes but they’re a minority.” Aphid said.

“… shit.” Izuku said and took a sip of his tea: “And here I thought my dad was an asshole.”

Aphid’s face hardened.

“What?”

“… yours isn’t?” Izuku said.

“He died protecting me from a villain when I was five.” Aphid said.

“… mine walked out on me when I was five.”

“Oh.” Aphid said. 

They sat in awkward silence.

“… I’m sorry about your dad. Did they… catch the villain?” Izuku said.

Aphid stared at his tea.

“I met him again.”

“… oh. Um… did you…?”

“No. But I wanted to. I almost did.”

Izuku gave a relieved sigh.

“Good. Our Tenya was the same.”

Aphid smiled mirthlessly.

“Has your Tenya stayed clean?”

“… clean?”

“I guess he doesn’t use there.” Aphid said.

“Wait. Your Tenya is an… addict?”

“He’s stayed clean.” Aphid said.

Izuku decided to drop the subject. It was hard to imagine Tenya meeting a dealer in some shady back alley to buy his fix but grief could do… terrible things to people.

“… what’s your armor like? We could exchange ideas.” Izuku said.

Aphid looked at him puzzled.

“Armor?”

“… the power armor. You know… that allows us to be a hero.” Izuku said.

“I have a Quirk.” Aphid said.

“What?!”

Every eye in the café turned to them.

“… but how? I… wait. All-Might?” Izuku said.

“He… didn’t offer it to you?” Aphid said.

“… he did… but I turned him down.” Izuku said.

“You turned him down?” Aphid said and shook his head: “You’re either a total badass or insane.”

“… I have my armor.”

Aphid looked at his wounds.

“You should work on that armor part.” Aphid said.

Izuku smirked.

“If you wanna see it in action, I’m game.” 

“I think I’ll pass.”

Izuku ordered another cup of tea.

“… how did the Council build this place?” Izuku said.

“They didn’t. Empress Mei did. The statue outside is supposed to be her. They just took over after they took her down.” Aphid said.

“… were you here when that happened?”

“No and Mei doesn’t like talking about it, but she did tell me that they imprisoned the Empress into a blackhole. Escaping it is impossible.” Aphid said.

“… you sure?”

“Absolutely. There’s no chance for her to ever bust out.” Aphid said.

“… okay.”

Aphid glanced at the café’s TV.

“Could someone turn up the volume? The competition is about to start.”

The volume was turned up and Present Mic’s voice filled the café. Izuku wondered from what reality he came from.

“Welcome, Hatsumes! To the annual interdimensional science fair! I am your host! The one! The only! Present Mic! And what a show we have for you this year! Let’s give a round of applause to this year’s contestants!”

Izuku watched wit mild concern as Meis from different dimensions showcased their latest inventions. Aphid’s Mei had brought a railgun that had been designed to utilize Kaminari’s Quirk. Izuku hoped that he could have a word with her about the design. His world’s Kaminari would appreciate something like that. 

Iceberg’s invention was an addiction free Trigger, but it still had some of the usual side-effects. Izuku shuddered at the thought at what would have happened if Shuichi had managed to use that during their fight. He’d been a tough opponent as it was. 

Then his Mei stepped to the stage.

“What’s up my fellow Meis?! I’m Mei from the dimension SISBI-18 and I’m here to give you glimpse of the future! Sagan! Play it!”

The video screen behind Mei came to life and a familiar scene started playing out before Izuku. His fight with Shouto during the annual U.A Sports Festival. 

“Sorry for the wait everyone! I’m the director of Project: Indestructible! Mei Hatsume! And it is my honor to introduce the next Symbol of Peace! The hero Indestructible!”

The fight had been edited into a fast-spaced spectacle that had Sagan’s fingerprints all over it. The café had fallen silent as they watched Indestructible duke it out with the most powerful student in U.A. And winning. 

“Holy… crap.” Aphid muttered. 

When the video had played to the end Mei was sporting the widest smile Izuku had ever seen. The applauses were deafening.

“So what?! Any loser with super strength could do that!”

The cameras turned to Iceberg Pink sitting among the audience looking unimpressed. You could hear Mei grinding her teeth. 

“The prototype could beat Todoroki. What do you think Mark 3.0 can do?” Mei said voice strained by false patience.

“Met your pilot. That armor has crippled him.” Iceberg retorted.

“Show me a hero that hasn’t been injured in duty and I’ll show you a pussy!” Mei yelled back.

“Sorry. Did that hit a nerve? This… Indestructible is just a piece of junk that could kill its pilot and run out of power at any time. Quirks don’t have that problem.” Iceberg said.

“Fuck you, Iceberg! The mark 3.0 could destroy any hero you throw at him!” Mei screamed.

“Really?” Iceberg said.

“Really, really, bitch!”

“Then you shouldn’t have any trouble proving it. Against Agro.” Iceberg said.

The café had fallen quiet. The bad kind of quiet. 

“… who’s Agro?” Izuku whispered to Aphid.

Aphid was too busy calling the other Mei to answer him.

“Mei! Stop her!” Aphid screamed into his phone.

Iceberg continued her attack on TV.

“What’s wrong? Scared? Let’s make a bet. If you win, we can switch Urarakas again.” 

“… and if I win?” Mei said.

“I get Sagan. I’m curious to see how that thing works.” Iceberg said.

Something exploded behind Izuku’s eyes and he yanked the phone from Aphid.

“Other Mei. Put me on loudspeaker!” Izuku said.

Suddenly his voice was echoing in TV.

“Listen to me, you smug bastard! No one calls Sagan a thing! Bring me this Agro and I’ll crush him!”

Iceberg grinned.

“Guess we have a bet then.”

“Yeah! Anytime you’re ready!”

Izuku hang up. Everyone was staring at him. Aphid took back his phone.

“What have you done?”

“Standing up for Sagan. Who’s this Agro? A villain?” Izuku said. 

“He’s… like us. An Izuku and a wielder of One For All.” Aphid said.

“Are there…versions of us that are villains?”

“Quit a few but… Agro’s not a villain. Not quite. I think.”

“But… All-Might chose him. Right?” Izuku said.

“I don’t think All-Might knew exactly what he was getting with Agro. He has… issues.” Aphid said.

“Issues? What… wait. Bakugou?”

“Bakugou.” Aphid agreed: “His world’s Bakugou… has only one eye and… Agro almost killed him during training. Then there’s… have you met Muscular?”

Izuku shuddered.

“Yeah. If I’d faced him alone… I’d be dead.”

“Agro faced him alone and now… Muscular is dead. Agro is… unhinged.” Aphid said. 

“… could you beat him?” Izuku said.

“Maybe but… I’d rather not fight him. I don’t want to think how far I’d have to go to do that.”

Izuku took a sip of his tea. 

“… I had to put up with Bakugou too and… I didn’t go insane.” Izuku said. 

“You never met Ikari.” Aphid said.

“… Ikari?”

“She was a… variation. One of those things that don’t appear more than in a select few worlds. She would take in orphaned children of villains and… use her Quirk Scaretale to… twist them.” Aphid said.

“… and she did that to Agro?”

“Yeah. Her Quirk… it was a combination of telepathy and illusions. She could manipulate your sense of time. One night could last for years. She’d force… children to live their worst nightmares and… break them.” Aphid said.

“… is she dead?”

“Yeah. Fed to Moonfish. But after the Council found out about her, they started scanning the multiverse to see if there were other versions of her. From what I heard they found one. She was younger but… already up to her usual tricks. They sent a hit squad after her but… she got away.”

Aphid stared at his tea.

“The things that woman did… particularly to Toga…”

“… Toga?” Izuku said voice dripping with venom.

“I guess you’ve met her.” Aphid said.

“Yes.” Izuku said and told what had happened with him, Mei and Toga.

Aphid listened quietly. When Izuku was done, Aphid sighed.

“You’re really going to hate this next part about Agro.”


	2. Sweet but Psycho

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agro is pulled into Iceberg Pink's scheme and finds a reason to fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When it came to supporting characters from BSSM... I only had two choices really. So... BSSM Shinsou has returned! As for SISBI side characters... I went with my favorites.

Sleeping in on a Sunday morning had become a rare pleasure for Agro after he’d started his hero training with All-Might. One he didn’t realize he’d missed. After getting into U.A sleeping had seemed like time wasted. The dorms were empty with most the students visiting their families for the weakened and was Agro probably the only one who had visitors to the dorms. 

The need to pee pulled him awake and Agro forced himself up. A red hand reached out and pulled him back to bed. 

“Why ya gotta get up, Izuku-Izuku?” Himiko said sleepily.

“… gotta pee.” Agro said.

“Hold it in. Sleep.”

“… in a sec. Wanna let me go?” Agro said.

“No. But I will anyway.” 

After taking a quick leak, Agro snuggled back under the blankets next to Himiko. 

“Ya need me gone?” Himiko said.

“… no. The others shouldn’t be back until this afternoon.” Agro said.

“Cool. Wanna sleep till twelve and then screw?”

“… sure.” Agro said and closed his eyes: “Let’s get pizza after that.”

Sleep came quickly and Agro dreamt of Ikari. When Shinsou had used his Quirk on him, he’d promised that there would be no more nightmares. And Shinsou had told the truth. But it hadn’t been enough to vanquish Ikari from his minds or dreams. At least now he dreamed of how he had joined forces with the past wielders of One For All to beat Ikari’s face in. There were worse dreams. 

Agro hugged Himiko and slept. It was a moment you couldn’t really appreciate until it was…

There was a banging on his door.

“Crazy kid! Take your pants off! We need to talk!” Shinsou yelled from behind his door.

“… the hell, Shinsou?” Agro mumbled and rubbed his eyes: “Go away. I’m sleeping!”

Himiko sat up and pulled the blanket around herself.

“No can do! Iceberg sent a message. She wants to know why you’re not answering your phone.” Shinsou said.

“It’s Sunday! It’s… turned off. And call her Hatsume. Don’t encourage her with that Iceberg Pink nonsense.” Agro said.

“I’d love to, but she said it was an emergency. Council business.” Shinsou said.

Agro buried his face in his pillow.

“… for fuck sake.”

“What council?” Himiko whispered.

“It’s… wait. Shinsou. How do you know about the Council?”

Shinsou laughed.

“You think you’re the only one who’s done wet work for them? I’m coming in.” 

“Don’t!” Agro yelled.

“Why not? Wait. Do you have someone there?” Shinsou said.

“… no.”

“Let’s fix that. I’m coming in.” Shinsou said.

Before Agro had time to protest, Shinsou let himself in with the master key. Then he just stopped and stared. But not for long. Nothing could shut Shinsou up for long.

“I knew it! I fucking knew it!” 

“… what?” Agro said.

He glanced at Himiko… and saw that she had transformed into Shouto. 

“Good to see you two finally took my advice and got a room. But why… oh why… didn’t you invite me?” Shinsou said and slapped his hands together: “Now, put some pants on. The Council of Mei hates waiting.”

“The Council of Mei?” Himiko said with Shouto’s voice.

“It’s so insane that you have to see it to believe it. Wanna tag along?” Shinsou said.

“No!” Agro said.

“Yes!” Himiko said.

“Sweet! Crazy kid, lover boy and Lord Psycho Helmet adventure!”

Agro looked at Himiko pleadingly but knew he wouldn’t be able to change her mind. And a large part of him didn’t want to. He borrowed Himiko some of his clothes while Shinsou dialed Hatsume’s number.

“Iceberg. We’re ready.”

A portal opened in his room. Himiko’s eyes widened but her surprise didn’t last for long. She just shrugged and accepted it like everything else. Agro took her hand and they stepped through it after Shinsou. There was a brief flash of pain like every time he travelled between dimensions, but you barely had time to notice. The portal took them straight to Hatsume’s living quarters at the… Ice Hole. 

“Agro! Shinsou and… Why is Todoroki wearing Agro’s shirt?” Hatsume said.

“They were…” Shinsou said.

“A sleepover!” Agro said quickly: “What do you want, Hatsume?”

Hatsume sipped her coffee and just stared at him. Agro sighed.

“… what do you want, Iceberg?”

“Better. I need you to beat someone up.” Iceberg said.

“… a villain?” Agro said.

“Not quite. I… kinda made a bet that you could beat an Izuku from another dimension.” Iceberg said.

“Leviathan?” Shinsou said.

“No.” Iceberg said.

“Starburst?” Shinsou said.

“I’m not a monster.” Iceberg said.

“What about…”

“Indestructible.” Iceberg said.

“Never heard of him.” Shinsou said.

“You… made a bet.” Agro said slowly and turned to look at Himiko and Shinsou: “Could you… give me a second?”

“Sure.” Himiko said and then stepped closer to kiss him: “Don’t take too long.”

Shinsou and Iceberg had gone quiet and just stared. Himiko grabbed Shinsou’s hand and dragged him out. Iceberg stared after them and then turned to look at him.

“So, you and Todoroki…”

“Don’t start with me.” Agro said and activated his Quirk: “Not now. I’m not in the mood. When I asked for your help, this is not what we agreed on.”

A sweat drop ran down Icebergs’ forehead.

“Look… Agro. I promised that I’d find a way to break Nighteye’s prediction about you and Toga and… I think I cracked it.”

_The two of you will fight. And… you will kill her._

Agro backed away.

“Explain. Now.”

“If I win, I get the A.I the other Hatsume designed. Do you have any idea what kind of predictions and calculations it could make? With the right adjustments it could see the future better than Nighteye and figure out how to change it.”

Agro’s eyes narrowed. 

“You sure?”

“As sure as I can be.” Iceberg said.

Agro looked at his fists and counted the scars on his knuckles. 

_The two of you will fight. And… you will kill her._

“Where is this Indestructible?” Agro said.

“Aphid took him to a nearby café.” Iceberg said.

Agro dialed back his Quirk.

“Thank you, Iceberg.”

“Happy to do business, Agro.” Iceberg said.

Himiko was waiting for him outside Iceberg’s door.

“So, how did it go?” Himiko said.

“… not easy. It never is with her.” Agro said and looked around: “… where’s Shinsou?”

“Said he wanted to check out the competition.”

Agro smiled and took Himiko’s hand. 

“… you can change back now.”

“Ya sure? Ya won’t get in trouble?” Himiko said.

“… this is a neutral zone. Whatever you’ve done outside, doesn’t matter here. Some Meis… and Izukus can be… pretty bad.”

Himiko grinned.

“Are ya bad too? Am I sleeping with a bad boy? So, when were ya gonna tell yer girl Toga about this place, Mr. bad boy?” 

“… would you have believed me if I had… without seeing it?” Agro said.

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Himiko said and looked around: “So many Meis. So, they’re all from other worlds?”

“… yeah.”

“Makes ya wonder, doesn’t it? Just what else is out there.” Himiko said.

“… there’s only one other Ikari that they’ve been able to find. She’s an… anomaly.” Agro said.

Himiko… shivered.

“Who said anything about… Mrs. Ikari?”

“… we were both thinking about her. They’re hunting her down. They’ll get her.” Agro said and held Himiko’s hand tighter: “Come. Let’s go get some coffee.”

***

Izuku rubbed his eyes.

“You can’t be serious.” Izuku said.

“Afraid so. They’ve been going steady… for a while now.” Aphid said.

“But… she’s a villain!”

“Tell that to Agro. He doesn’t care.” Aphid said.

“Care about what? What are you gents bad mouthing crazy kid for?”

Shinsou… a Shinsou stepped in. He carried himself with even more bravado than the one Izuku knew. His name tag marked him as the Shinsou of BSSM-17.

“Aphid!” Shinsou said and grabbed Aphid’s hand to give it a wild shake: “It’s been too long.”

“Have we met?” Aphid said.

“Your reputation precedes you.” Shinsou said and turned his sights to Izuku: “And you must be Izuku. The Indestructible one.”

“Did Agro sent you?” Aphid said.

“To scare you off? He can do that just fine himself. I’m his hype man. Everyone needs one.” Shinsou said.

“Is it true?” Izuku said.

“Is what true?” Shinsou said and turned to look at the café keeper: “Black coffee. Extra sugar.”

“He just found out that Agro is dating Toga.” Aphid said.

“And I just found out that crazy kid ditched Toga for Todoroki.” Shinsou said.

Aphid and Izuku blinked.

“What?” They said.

“Guess he finally decided to upgrade a nine to a ten. What can I say? Crazy kid loves to fuck. Dude gets ass easier than a toilet seat. As a matter of fact, half of U.A has gotten a taste of his sweet, sweet loving. We all walked funny for days.” Shinsou said.

Izuku stared at Shinsou his mouth agape. Aphid just shook his head.

“Am I the only Izuku who doesn’t play for both teams?”

Shinsou laughed.

“There are no straight Izukus, Aphid. Just Izukus who haven’t had a chance to bone lover boy yet.” Shinsou said and nodded to the waiter when she brought his coffee.

“Pretty sure I’m straight.” Aphid said.

“And I’m pretty sure you’re full of it.” Shinsou said and turned to look at the café keeper: “Hey! Buddy. In the multiverse, who is crazy kid sticking it to most often?”

“Todoroki.” The café keeper said without looking up.

“See?” Shinsou said.

“Bakugou is a close second.” The café keeper continued.

“Really? Huh. I think I speak for everyone here when I say this. Ew.” Shinsou said.

“… what? Wait. I’m sorry. Why are you even here?” Izuku said.

“I like to think that I bring some much-needed levity to the proceedings.” Shinsou said.

“Our Shinsou isn’t this… hyper.” Aphid said.

“Your loss.” Shinsou said.

“Ours comes close.” Izuku said.

“I’d love to meet him.” Shinsou said.

The door to the café opened and… Toga stepped in.

Time stopped and for a moment Izuku was back in that cellar. Where people had died. Chained to a chair. While Toga was looming over him and Mei. Asking which eye Mei wanted to lose first. 

Izuku hadn’t even realized that he had grabbed a fork and lunged at Toga until… he was face to face with another Izuku. He grabbed Izuku’s wrist and he could feel his bones creak. Aphid got up.

“Agro. Let him go.”

Agro looked at Aphid and squeezed just a bit harder before letting go. Just to let Izuku know he could have broken his wrist. While rubbing feeling back to his hand, Izuku studied Agro.

Agro was tall for an Izuku. Still on the short side but taller than him or Aphid. He was also far more muscular, with broader shoulders than even Aphid. A light scar ran over his cheek. But what caught Izuku off guard were the eyes. He’d been expecting a mad dog foaming from the mouth but Agro… just looked sad. And tired. There was also anger there that approached madness but all and all… he was just a man in pain.

Izuku could understand pain. He’d probably had a look like that in his eyes when Bakugou’s cruelty had reached its peak. 

Agro looked around at the café.

“Anyone else wanna try something like that?”

Silence followed Agro’s glare.

“My hero.” Toga said.

Shinsou rubbed his face.

“For fuck sake, crazy kid. Here I thought you’d wizened up.”

“Nice to see ya too, Shinsou.” Toga said.

“Get hit by a train, Toga.” Shinsou said.

“Sound like a plan. Could you make her do that?”

Mei, his Mei, was standing at the door, shooting daggers at Toga with her eyes. The eyes another Toga had tried to cut out. Mei stepped in and walked up to Toga. Toga didn’t back away or flinch and met Mei with a smile on her face.

“I see it, but I don’t fucking believe it. You’re actually fucking her.” Mei said.

“Language.” Aphid said nervously.

“Shut up!” Mei yelled.

“I guess ya met one of my… twins.” Toga said.

“You can bet your evil, bitch ass I did. You fucking psycho!” Mei said.

Agro clenched his fists and Izuku could hear his knuckles crack.

“I don’t know what the other Himiko did but…”

“You call her by her first name?” Izuku said appalled. 

“Indestructible… please.” Aphid pleaded.

“I guess ya have a lot on yer heart, sweetie. Wanna share it?” Toga said.

“Sure.” Mei said and did.

She told everything. Everything the other Toga had done. And what she planned to do. What she had almost done. Toga listened and… the smile stayed on her face but… it became forced. Strained. 

When Mei was done, she was panting and close to tears. Izuku felt like crying too. Toga… just stood there. When Agro tried to approach her, she stepped away.

“… Himiko?”

“Izuku-Izuku… I guess ya got yer hands full. I’ll… see ya later.”

Toga turned her back on them and… left. If Agro was a man on pain, then Toga was a woman in agony. For a moment, Izuku felt sorry for her.

“… Shinsou…” Agro said.

“Yeah?” Shinsou said sullenly.

“… could you… could you look after her… while I have a word… with my… twins?”

Shinsou sighed.

“Things I do for you.”

“… I know, Shinsou. I know. I’m sorry and… thank you.” Agro said.

When Shinsou followed Toga, the look on Agro’s face was so heartbroken that even Mei couldn’t think of anything to say.

Then Agro turned to look at them and Izuku understood why people talked about Agro in hushed tones. The last time he’d felt pressure like this was when he’d faced All For One. Electricity sparked in the air when Agro’s Quirk went to over-drive.

“You… you hurt her.”

The café emptied faster than Izuku thought possible. In a second everyone was just… gone. There was only Agro. Who was getting closer by the heartbeat. Aphid was sweating cold and his voice came out quivering.

“Agro. Don’t.” Aphid said.

“Move.” Agro growled.

“Agro… please. Just… just turn off your Quirk. It… it makes you unstable. Please. You’re scaring us. All of us. What… what would mom think?” Aphid said.

Agro… stopped. The tension in the air eased. A little anyway.

“Indestructible… Hatsume…” Agro said slowly.

“Yeah?” Mei said nervously.

“I’ve had a rough few months. I found out that my girlfriend was a… villain. Nighteye told me I’m destined to… kill her. I… was… tortured by… Ikari. I… I hope you can forgive me for the loss of… control.” Agro said.

Aphid let out a nervous chuckle. 

“It’s okay.”

“Good.” Agro said and suddenly his voice was dripping with ice: “Then I hope you appreciate how hard it is to stay… polite. Civilized. Listen to me, Indestructible. Because you’ll only hear this once. Give up and give me that A.I. If you don’t… I’ll peel that armor off you. Then I will beat an apology out of you.”

Izuku shuddered but Indestructible… Indestructible smiled. He stepped up to meet Agro. 

“You want my daughter? You can have her when you pry her from my cold dead hands.” Indestructible said. 

“Those terms… are acceptable.” Agro said and looked at Aphid: “My support team is Himiko and Shinsou. Let me know when he’s ready to die.”

Agro walked out but the pressure that surrounded him stayed. Aphid fell on a chair and let out a sight that was half a wail. 

“You okay?” Mei said.

“I thought… he was going to kill me.” Aphid said.

Indestructible was quiet.

“Izuku?” Mei said.

“Mei. I’m going to beat All-Might’s heir.” Indestructible said.

“Izuku… Remember how the end of terms exams went? All-Might beat you.”

“Monoma told me something then. He wouldn’t be able to use All-Might’s Quirk. It would tear him apart. It takes time for the heirs to master it, right?” Indestructible said and looked at Aphid.

“Aren’t you clever? Yeah.” Aphid agreed.

“How much of it can you use?” Indestructible said.

“More than Agro but…”

“Then I can beat him.” Indestructible said.

“I can’t tell which of you is the crazy one anymore.” Aphid said.

“You better. Sagan is on the line here.” Mei said.

“I won’t let them get our daughter.” Indestructible said.

“A father wouldn’t gamble his daughter.” Mei said.

“I…” Indestructible said.

Izuku bowed his head.

“… I’m sorry.”

“You better be.” Mei said and sighed: “When did I become the responsible one?”

“You can have two people in the support group. Who do you want?” Aphid said.

“I… could we have Aizawa-sensei?! To turn off his Quirk?” Izuku said.

“This is just for emotional support.” Aphid said.

“No outside interference. Good plan though.” Mei said.

“Then…” Izuku said: “Could I have Spinner and Mustard?”

“What?!” Me yelled.

“The Stain fan boy?” Aphid said.

“He’s not much of a fan… in my dimension.” Izuku said.

“Izuku. What the shit?” Mei said.

“I… I need to talk to them. Get them to surrender. For Eri. She… she’s worried about them.” Izuku said.

Mei groaned.

“You lovable little shit. Fine!”

“Who’s Eri?” Aphid said.

“Human cotton candy. Finding those two idiots won’t be easy. Could your… other mentor help with that?” Mei said.

Aphid smiled.

“I’ll see what he can do.”

***

Shuichi had healed enough after his run-in with Endeavor to get back to his training. A steel barrel filled with water dangled from the roof by chains and Shuichi started his usual set. Metallic clangs echoed throughout the underground passages with every punch. When he’d started, all it took was a few blows before his knuckles were a shattered mess, but they healed fast. And every time they were a little stronger. A little tougher and now… his fists could leave dents in steel. Next time they fought Indestructible would not be able to hide behind his armor. 

Mustard stayed on the sidelines and made sure he didn’t overdo it while testing the limits of his evolved Quirk. Mustard could still secrete his usual sleeping gas but after Endeavor it had changed. Now with a bit of concentration the gas would become corrosive. With enough exposure it could even grind rock to dust. 

With Shuichi beating the steel barrel, it took them a moment to hear that alarm bells they had set up were going off. All of them. At the same time! Mustard got up and put on his gas mask. Shuichi went for his sword.

“Mustard! Run! I’ll slow them…”

Mustard never had time to run. A wall collapsed, and someone stepped through the rubble. For a moment Shuichi thought it was All-Might in a new blue suit and mask. The intruder had the build and the chin for it but… the voice was all wrong. Was the guy a foreigner?

“Evening reptilian rogue and masked malady! Destiny is calling you to witness a duel and I shall be your guide!”

Shuichi did a sword stroke. The kind only someone with super strength and training could do. It had enough force to go through thee sets of Indestructible armors. 

It didn’t even leave a scratch in the blue behemoth’s skin and the impact broke Shuichi’s sword. The intruder just laughed.

“It takes more than that to cut justice, you reptilian rogue! For I am! Mighty!”

Mustard didn’t hesitate to throw his hands in the air.

“I surrender!” Mustard screeched.

“I don’t.” Shuichi said and took a boxing stance.

The intruder laughed even harder. Hard enough to make the underground passages shake. 

“Destiny did not call me here today to fight! You two shall witness a duel! A duel of fate! Come! Let us break the laws of physics together!”

The intruder was as fast as he was strong. He grabbed Shuichi and Mustard before they could fight or flee. Then… he jumped. Through time and space.

***

“Crazy kid! This is insane!” Shinsou said while Agro followed Himiko.

“… I know.” Agro said.

“Do you care?” Shinsou said.

“… no.”

“Crazy kid… Damn it, Izuku! Are you really gonna throw away everything for her?! She’s a villain!”

“… she needs help.” Agro said.

“Has it ever occurred to you that maybe… just maybe, you’re not the one who can help her?”

“… I’m the only one who’ll try. Everyone else just sees… a villain.” Agro said.

Shinsou sighed.

“Izuku… this isn’t going to end well.”

“… if it doesn’t… will you be there to help me?” Agro said.

“Izuku… sometimes it can be hard… real hard to be your friend.” Shinsou said.

“… I know. Thank you. For trying.” Agro said.

Shinsou rubbed his face.

“Go talk to her. I’ll be chewing you out more afterwards.”

“… thanks.” Agro said.

Finding Himiko who didn’t want to be found was impossible. Good thing that Himiko didn’t want to be alone and Agro found her in one of the older parts of the space city that hadn’t been fixed after Empress Mei had been defeated. She sat among the wreckage.

“… hi.” Agro said.

“Hi.”

“… got room for me?”

Himiko nodded and made room on the rock she was sitting on. Agro sat next to her.

“… you alright?”

“Ya heard what they said. What I did. So… no.” Himiko said.

“… it wasn’t you.” Agro said.

“It could’ve been.” Himiko said.

Agro took her hand.

“… Himiko… the person you are… the person you are right now… would never have done that.”

“Ya sure? Maybe there are things ya don’t know about me. Things ya don’t want to know.”

“… I know you better than that.” Agro said and squeezed her hand tighter: “Even if they are all your enemies… I’ll fight for you.”

Himiko smiled.

“I’ll fight with ya.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time... the duel.


	3. Whatever It Takes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The duel begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Place your bets. Someone is going to get their ass kicked.

“Spoon!”

The Tick jumped between dimensions with his two passengers slung over his shoulders. Aphid stood with Indestructible and tried not to smirk at the look on his face. He never got tired of seeing others meet Tick for the first time. Indestructible’s Mei was made of sterner stuff and just looked annoyed when Tick bent laws of reality over his knee. 

“I have returned with the reptilian rogue and masked malady in tow!” Tick bellowed and dropped Spinner and Mustard to the ground. Both were out cold.

“Thank you, Tick.” Aphid said.

“Think nothing of it, my young ward! Now, I must go! Destiny is calling!”

Tick put on his disguise, a tie, and tried to blend in with the crowd. All the Meis and Izukus watched him go before deeming it someone else’s problem and carrying on with their business. Indestructible stared after Tick for a long time his mouth hanging open. 

“What… what was that? What was up with that tie?”

“He’s in disguise.” Aphid said.

“That’s actually meant to fool me? Should I be insulted?” Hatsume said.

“No! Stop! Both of you! Stop acting like this is normal! This is not normal! He… he just walked between dimension!” Indestructible screamed.

“More like jumped.” Hatsume said.

“He tends to do that. Did you know he learned to speak Japanese in just a few days?” Aphid said.

“Man. Now I want his DNA sample even more.” Hatsume said.

“That’s impossible! All of this impossible! Why aren’t you freaking out?!” Indestructible yelled.

“Take a chill pill, Izuku. Tick can’t be the weirdest thing you’ve seen today.” Hatsume said.

Indestructible sat down next to his passed-out guests and rubbed his face. 

“… what’s his Quirk?” Indestructible said.

“Complete mastery over facial hair.” Aphid said.

“Lucky him. Can you imagine having to shave that beast he calls a jaw?” Hatsume said.

Spinner and Mustard were finally starting to come to. Spinner jumped on his feet and looked around wildly. 

“The fuck just…?” Spinner muttered when he spotted Indestructible: “Indestructible?”

Then he saw Aphid.

“… eh?” Spinner said.

Mustard was too choked to even scream and just hugged his friend’s leg.

“I’m freaking out, Shuichi!”

Aphid took a quick note of Spinner. The Spinner he knew, the one he had fought, was quite frankly something of an idiot. But this one… there was cunning and thoughtfulness to his face that his counterpart lacked. There was also… something else. Power. Aphid had been able to take down his dimensions Spinner without much trouble but this one… this one could be a problem.

But Mustard… Yeah. He was a sniveling coward no matter what the dimension was. 

Indestructible got up.

“It’s Izuku. Not Indestructible. We’re not on the clock here.” Indestructible said before glaring at Mustard: “For you it’s Mr. Midoriya.”

“… okay. Uh… who’s the clone?” Spinner said.

“Izuku from another dimension.” Hatsume said.

“Hi.” Aphid said.

“… okay. Uh…” Spinner said and laughed nervously: “Here I thought you’d cloned him.”

“Still working on that.” Hatsume said.

“I wanna go home.” Mustard whined.

Hatsume gave them a brief history of the Ice Hole and the bet Indestructible had made. Spinner listened carefully but his face revealed nothing.

“So, we’re here for moral support? If I’d known we’d become this close, I would’ve dressed up.” Spinner said.

“You’re perfect just the way you are.” Indestructible said.

Aphid looked at Indestructible, Hatsume, Spinner and Mustard. This wasn’t what he’d been expecting. They almost sounded like friends. 

“Sorry but how do you know each other?” Aphid said.

“They tried to blackmail money from my dad’s shop for the yakuza. I beat them up.” Hatsume said.

“No, you didn’t! It was your dad!” Mustard said.

“You do realize I took a fall back then.” Spinner said.

Hatsume grinned.

“Sure, you did. And then Mustard sicced the Sludge Villain on us.”

“… what?” Aphid said.

“Hey, we made up for that when we saved you from Stain.” Spinner said.

“You kinda ruined it by messing up my knee.” Indestructible said.

“What?!” Aphid gasped.

“And my apology for that was saving you from Toga.” Spinner said.

“Bakugou saved us from Toga.” Hatsume said.

“And who saved Bakugou? Us. Hell, I even pushed that new Ingenium out of the fire.” Spinner said.

 _These guys are insane_ , Aphid thought. 

“So… did you just call us here for a trip down memory lane?” Spinner said.

“No. I want you to surrender.” Indestructible said.

“What?! Hell no! I’m not going to jail!” Mustard yelled.

“You’re sixteen. You’d go to juvie. They’d still eat you alive there. Not gonna lie, Indestructible. Shit plan.” Spinner said.

“Eri is worried.” Indestructible said.

Spinner looked away and Mustard flinched.

“She’s always waiting for you to come back and we pretend not to notice.” Hatsume said.

“No.” Spinner said.

“Shuichi… you’re not a bad person. You could start over. Both of you. I’d put a good word for you.” Indestructible said.

“And what would Endeavor do? The new number one hero? It might be in his best interests to bury us both. I know what kind of a man he is. Did you know Dabi talks in his sleep?” Spinner said.

“Are you friends with Dabi too?” Aphid said

“No. Fuck him.” Spinner said.

Hatsume grinned.

“What?” Mustard said suspiciously.

“Nothing. It’s just good to meet another Endeavor hater.” Hatsume said.

“Who’s’ Dabi?” Indestructible said.

“A former colleague. You might know him better as Toya Todoroki.” Spinner said.

“What?!” Aphid gasped.

“Guess you didn’t know either.” Spinner said.

“He’s… Shouto’s brother?” Indestructible said.

“That’s what I said. Yes.” Spinner agreed.

“Where is he now?” Hatsume said.

“Don’t know. He disappeared when you guys attacked the League’s headquarters. Probably underground. He might have crawled back to the yakuza.” Spinner said and looked around: “Look… I won’t surrender but I will help you. I’ll try fighting this… Agro. I’ll see what he’s got.”

“Thanks. I guess.” Indestructible said.

“You’re welcome.” Spinner said and smiled at Aphid: “Can you take us to him?”

“Sure.” Aphid said.

***

Shuichi followed Aphid through the space city with Mustard. Behind every street corner was something new to be amazed by. Mustard was scared out of his mind and stayed close to him while Shuichi tried to think of something to talk about with their host. 

“So… what am I like in your world?” Shuichi said.

“A follower of Stain.” Aphid said.

“Hmm. My twin has terrible taste. We met him once. A lot less impressive in person.” Shuichi said.

“What about me?” Mustard said.

Aphid tensed up.

“You tried to shoot my classmates.” 

“… oh.” Mustard said.

“Dick move, other Mustard. Do you think it would be possible to bring Eri here? I’d like to see her.” Shuichi said.

“You really care about this Eri, huh?” Aphid said.

Shuichi and Mustard stopped. Aphid turned to look at them.

“What?”

“It almost sounds like… you don’t know her.” Shuichi said.

“Can’t say I do.”

Terror gouged Shuichi’s chest.

“She’s still with… Overhaul?” Shuichi said.

The news was enough to make Mustard forget to be scared. 

“We have to go save her!”

“Yeah. Change of plans. You’re taking us to your place.” Shuichi said.

“What about Agro?” Aphid said.

“What about Agro? This is Indestructible’s fight. He can settle it and… he’d want to save Eri too.” Shuichi said.

“I can’t.” Aphid said.

“What do you mean you can’t? Aren’t you a hero? A child needs help.” Shuichi said.

“There are rules and… they are too important to break. Crossing dimensions can be dangerous. There’s a reason why we all meet here.” Aphid said and sighed: “Look… tell me what you know, and I’ll see what I can do.”

Shuichi clenched his fists. He hated this. Feeling helpless. Feeling like… he’d betrayed Eri.

“Eri is being kept prisoner by Overhaul. A yakuza. He can dismantle anything he touches.” Shuichi said.

“He’s a monster.” Mustard said.

“Yeah. My advice to you. When you see him, kill him.” Shuichi said.

Aphid’s eyes widened.

“I’m not a killer.”

“Overhaul might make you reconsider that. Slime boy made Indestructible change his mind on it.” Shuichi said.

“… what?”

“Slime boy didn’t leave us much of a choice. When you go after Overhaul… I’d appreciate if you’d take it easy on Rappa. We… kinda owe him.” Shuichi said.

“I’ll… I’ll keep that in mind.” Aphid said and glanced at him: “You sure about this? Agro was already a bit unstable before Ikari happened.”

“Who’s Ikari?” Shuichi said.

“The devil, I suppose.” Aphid said. 

Aphid took them to an empty gladiator arena where a different Izuku was doing warm-ups. He was slightly taller than Indestructible and far more muscular. Unlike Indestructible he only had a light scar on his cheek but his eyes… Agro was teetering at the edge of madness. 

And in the stands was Toga.

The sight of Toga made Mustard hide behind Shuichi and cold sweat started running down Shuichi’s back. It wasn’t the Toga he knew but… it was hard not to shiver at the sight of her anyway and… What was up with her hand? Her right hand was red and longer than the left one. The fingers ended in talons. 

“Who are you?” Agro said.

Shuichi grinned despite his fear.

“Guess we haven’t met in your world. I’m just your friendly neighborhood Spinner and this is my heterosexual life partner, Mustard.”

“Okay.” Agro said.

“They are Indestructible’s support team.” Aphid said.

“Are they now?” Toga said and jumped out of the stands.

It was a ten-meter jump, but Toga cleared without even a running start. She landed in front of them. It took all the courage he had but Shuichi managed to keep himself from running away.

“Do ya have beef with me too?” Toga said.

Mustard let out a terrified squeal.

“No. Not with you.” Shuichi said and looked down: “What’s with your arm?”

Toga looked at her red right hand.

“Overhaul blew it up. The prick.”

“Who gave you a new one?” Shuichi said.

“No one has ever given yer girl Toga anything. I took it.” Toga said.

Agro looked away and Aphid stared at her horrified.

“What do you want?” Agro said.

“There’s better ways to warm up than stretches. Wanna have a match?” Shuichi said.

“I have to fight soon.” Agro said.

“What’s wrong? Scared?” Shuichi said.

Agro looked at him and then at Toga who raised an eyebrow.

“Ever fought Indestructible?” Agro said.

“A couple times.” Shuichi admitted.

“He stronger than you?”

“We’re rough equals.” Shuichi said.

Agro nodded.

“Himiko. Aphid. Mustard. Could you give us some room?” Agro said.

Aphid headed back to the stands. Toga stayed with Agro and spoke to him in hushed tones. Mustard leaned closer to whisper in Shuichi’s ear.

“Shuichi… I think this is a bad idea. There’s something off about him.”

“Yeah. I noticed.” Shuichi said.

Agro jumped into the stands with Aphid. Toga remained in the arena.

“What is this?” Shuichi said.

“Ya said ya wanted to fight. So, ya get to fight me. Ya are clearly pissed at me about something.” Toga said.

Shuichi and Mustard shared a look. They had never agreed more about something.

“Ready to start? Or are ya scared?” Toga said.

“You bet I am.” Shuichi said while Mustard ran out of the arena. 

Toga flexed the fingers on her red right hand.

“Ya know… I don’t think we were ever properly introduced.” Toga said.

“I know you well enough.” Shuichi said.

“Can’t say the same.” Toga said.

Shuichi sighed.

“Fine.” He said and gave her a small bow: “Shuichi Iguchi. My Quirk is called King Lizard.”

Toga did a curtsy.

“Himiko Toga. My Quirk is called All For One.” 

***

Izuku tried to get his blood pumping while he waited for the announcer to call him to the arena. So much was at stake here. Sagan and if even half of Agro’s reputation was true, his life. Still, his heart pounded more from excitement than fear. In another world he had become All-Might’s heir and now… now he’d get to fight him. Tsu would be so jealous. In a way this was even better than facing All-Might at the end of term exams. Could he beat the version of himself that had said yes to All-Might’s Quirk?

“Indestructible.”

Shuichi needed Mustard’s help to walk. His scales were bruised and cracked and one of his eyes had swollen shut. 

“… Shuichi? What… what happened to you? Did Agro…?”

“No. His little girlfriend did.” Shuichi said.

Mustard helped him sit down and Shuichi let out a pained sigh.

“Toga? But…”

“This one can do more than transform. Her Quirk is All For One.” Shuichi said.

“What?!”

“We saw it ourselves. I… I think she had Overhaul’s Quirk too.” Mustard said.

“Then I guess it’s a good thing you’re not fighting her.”

The Shinsou who had tagged with Agro approached them. He looked at Shuichi and rolled his head.

“Man, she messes you up.”

“You think you could’ve done better?” Mustard said.

“Maybe. Probably not.” Shinsou said.

“Can I help you?” Izuku said.

“No but maybe I can help you.”

“Aren’t you with Agro?” Izuku said.

“I wish. Why can’t he look at me the same way as Toga and lover boy?” Shinsou said.

“Okay.” Izuku said.

“It’s really not. These blue balls are killing me.” Shinsou said.

“You said something about helping us, weird man.” Shuichi said.

“That I did, lizard man. Helping you will help crazy kid too. I’d hate to see him do something he’ll just regret later. Like steal a kid from her parents. I’ll help you get an opening.” Shinsou said.

“How?” Izuku said.

Shinsou told him. Mustard blushed. Shuichi looked unimpressed.

“If that actually works, I’ll lose all respect for him.” Shuichi said.

“Who cares? Crazy kid certainly won’t.” Shuichi said.

“I’ll… uh… I’ll try it.” Izuku said.

“You do that, whiz kid.” Shinsou said.

Izuku blinked.

“How… how do you know that my Shinsou… calls me whiz kid?”

Shinsou grinned.

“How indeed?” Shinsou said and patted Izuku’s shoulder: “Knock him dead, whiz kid.”

Shinsou left them standing in the hallway in stunned silence.

“Did he just imply that he’s…?” Mustard said.

“I have so many questions.” Izuku said.

“Can I get a round of applause for the Quirkless Hero Indestructible?!” Present Mic roared.

“Gotta go.” Izuku said.

“Good luck.” Shuichi said.

Izuku walked through the hallway into the arena and the crows greeted him with a storm. 

“Hailing from SISBI-18! He made it to the Hero Course without a Quirk! Indestructible!” Present Mic announced.

Agro stepped out from the opposite end.

“Hailing form BSSM-17! The heir of All-Might! Agro!”

The cheers for Agro were a lot more subdued. 

Mock buildings rose from the ground and Izuku was reminded of the training grounds he’d sparred with Bakugou. 

Izuku reached out with his mind for the casing holding the armor and the nanomachines flew it to him. The casing opened, and he placed his hands in the gloves. The crowd went wild when he was coated in the armor and it started humming with power. Indestructible waited for Sagan to greet him. And waited… and waited?

“Sagan?” 

“Oh, look at that. He remembers my name. And here I thought I’m just something that can be thrown away in a bet.” Sagan said.

“Sagan… look. I’m sorry.” Indestructible said.

“Dad.”

“Yeah?”

“Up yours!” Sagan yelled.

“Okay! Listen to me, young lady! Emotions were running pretty high and…”

“You thought you could just bet me away!”

“I…” Indestructible sighed: “You’re right. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Yeah! You shouldn’t have! I thought mom was the asshole of the family!” Sagan said.

“Don’t talk about your mother like that!”

“Like you haven’t… Oh shit!” Sagan yelled.

One hit from Agro sent him flying. When he hit the ground, Agro was already there to continue the onslaught. He grabbed his ankle and started slamming him into the ground like a pickaxe. 

“Goddamn… son of a bitch… stop…” Sagan complained every time they slammed into the ground. 

The armor had been woven with shock absorbing fiber which was the only reason Indestructible hadn’t been turned into pudding inside it but even it couldn’t protect him forever. Before Agro was able to beat him senseless, Indestructible called for the tracer cameras and sent them at Agro. Fearing that they were another weapon, Agro threw him away and concentrated on protecting himself.

“Agro draws first blood! Can Indestructible keep going?!” Present Mic said.

Indestructible got up and threw his fist in the air.

“Plus Ultra!” He yelled.

“He can!” Present Mic agreed.

Agro had crushed the tracers in his hands and Indestructible winced thinking how much replacing them would cost.

“Dad?” Sagan said.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t forgive you but let’s kick his ass.” Sagan said.

“Sounds like a plan.” Indestructible said and cracked his knuckles: “How much power do we need to surpass him?”

“Eighty percent. I’ll up it now. The armor can run for ninety minutes like that.” Sagan said.

“Excellent. I’ll get us a distraction.” Indestructible said.

_This better work, Shinsou, Indestructible thought._

“Hey! Agro!” Indestructible yelled.

“What?” Agro growled sullenly.

“I’ve slept with Tsu and Todoroki! At the same time!”

Agro blanked. Like Shinsou had said he would. Indestructible rushed him. Agro got out of his funk just long enough to throw a punch but Sagan was already calculating his attack patterns and weak spots. Blocking and counterattacking was easy enough and soon Agro looked like he was waist deep in mud. Indestructible followed his flurry of punches with electric shock and soon he’d brought Agro on his knees.

 _Why was everyone so scared of him_ , Indestructible thought.

***

Agro scampered away and tried to collect his thoughts but that cursed armor just wouldn’t stop coming! Why weren’t any of his punches connecting?! Why?! What the hell was going on?!

“Not going well, is it?”

The man standing next to him was tall and haggard with a wild mane of hair a scraggy beard. His knee brace creaked when he walked. 

“Get out of my head, One For All.” Agro said.

“I can help you. Just let me fight him. In our full might he’d be helpless.” One For All said.

“Yeah. And then you’d try to kill Himiko.”

“You still don’t trust me? Even after Ikari?” One For All said.

“I’m not a complete fool. Leave!” Agro said.

“Don’t be an idiot, young successor. I can…”

“All-Might! Nana!”

The other shades pulled One For All away but it had been enough of a distraction for Indestructible to get another punch in. This wasn’t good. He had to up the ante. Which was a problem in itself. He’d been using fifteen percent of his Quirk which was the absolute limit of what he could use safely. From here on out, time would be on Indestructible’s side.

Agro drew out twenty percent of his Quirk. 

Indestructible… slowed down. The whole world slowed down. When Indestructible tried throwing another straight, Agro blocked it with the circular motion just like Mr. Oguro had taught him and then… he hit back. This time Indestructible didn’t dodge or block. He just flew. 

It was Agro’s turn to attack.

He wasn’t a trained and experienced martial artist like Shouto, Himiko or even Mr. Oguro but the little he knew, he knew well. And his every blow was backed by the most powerful Quirk in the world.

It was Indestructible’s turn to be beaten down. Indestructible tried to defend but with the power-up, it didn’t do much good. When Indestructible realized he was out-matched, he ran into one of the dummy building that had risen from the ground. 

“No, you don’t!” Agro yelled and followed. 

He followed Indestructible inside. Into the dark.

“Where are you?! Come out! Face me!”

Indestructible leaped out of the darkness and released a series of punches. Few of them connected and made Agro stagger but he was quickly able to turn the tide of the fight back into his favor. He grabbed Indestructible and threw him out of the building. Through a stonewall. He followed Indestructible through the hole in the wall and the fight continued.

The crowd had fallen quiet and the only one to cheer him on was Himiko. The only one who didn’t see him as a monster. 

Indestructible got back on his feet and met him halfway. Something about him felt… off. The way he fought was different. More resolute. With less wasted movements. It was almost like he was fighting a different person. Was it caused by desperation or had the same thing happened to Indestructible that had happened to Agro when fighting Muscular? Everything unnecessary faded away. 

Not that mattered. Not when he had such a huge advantage in might. 

He grabbed Indestructible by the throat and started tearing off the helmet.

“You’ve lost. I…”

He took off the helmet. The armor was empty. Empty! What was going on?!

A baton hit him in the back of the head. It was always the blows you didn’t see coming that knocked you out. Agro fell on his knees and the armorless Indestructible followed up with a kick. Agro didn’t know how but somehow Indestructible’s bad leg had low level super strength. 

“Sagan! Back to me! Full power!”

The armor jumped back on Indestructible and he rushed at Agro. Faster and stronger than ever. Pure power was no longer on Agro’s side and Indestructible started manhandling him. Hits, kicks and electric shocks came faster than he could react to them. What was worse, he’d started to feel the wear and tear of using twenty percent of his Quirk.

“Ready to accept my help?” One For All said.

“Never!”

He had to win! He had to win for Himiko! Damn the pain. He drew out more of his Quirk’s power. Twenty-one percent. Twenty-two percent. Twenty-three percent. Pain exploded behind Agro’s eyes. Twenty-four percent. Twenty-five percent! Enough!

The only reason he wasn’t screaming from agony was that the muscles in his jaw had cramped. He had only seconds before One For All tore him apart. He threw a punch and the entire city shook.

When the dust had settled, Indestructible was laying on the ground.

“You’ve lost.” Agro said.

***

His flawless disguise gave him some privacy and Tick was free to sit on a park bench and watch the match. The Council had placed flat screen all over their city transforming the outdoors into a huge living room.

“Excuse me? Mind if I sit down?”

He’d been so absorbed in the match that he hadn’t noticed the young lady dressed in a black dress and white apron approaching until she was standing next to him. She was tall and fit with a deep tan. Her black hair had been tied in a bun and her smile was maternal. It reminded him of his young ward’s mother. 

“A hero would never leave a lady standing! For I am a hero! Even while in disguise!”

The young lady sat down.

“Thank you, Mr. Tick.”

Tick looked at her alarmed.

“Who is this Tick?! Who I am not!”

“A lucky guess.” The young lady said and pointed at her name tag: “I’m in disguise too. I thought we could be disguised together.”

They followed the match together. The young lady watched it all with a bemused smile. 

“I heard you took one of the Dekus as a pupil.” The young lady said. 

“Aphid will make a fine hero! Even if he thinks heroism can be taught in schools! But he doesn’t like being called Deku!” Tick said.

“My apologies. You must like children.”

“Children are the future! It is a hero’s duty to guide them!”

“I love children too. I used to run an orphanage just a month ago. Until the Council raided it. Luckily another Hatsume helped me escape. She doesn’t much care for the Council either. Not after they locked her in a black hole.”

The young lady smiled at him.

“I guess I never introduced myself, did I? My name is Ikari. Mrs. Ikari of BSSM-23. Now, tell me, Mr. Tick. What are you afraid of?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Ikari. I've missed that hateful, hateful woman.


	4. Something Wicked This Way Comes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight between Agro and Indestructible comes to an end and the villains begin to make their move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's right! This fic ain't dead!

Agro had pushed himself beyond anything his body could handle. One For All was tearing him apart and just standing was agony. His muscles were twitching and squirming. Nails were being driven into his skull and darkness had begun to worm around his vision. The taste of blood filled his mouth.

But that didn’t mean he was done. Not yet. If only it had been that easy. He just needed to go a bit further. For Himiko. He’d do it for her. He looked at the felled Indestructible who was lying in the rubble.

“You’ve lost.” Agro said.

He turned to look at the announcer booth.

“Declare it! I won! He lost! Declare it!”

One of the Meis got up and started screaming.

“You can do it Indestructible! Get up! Fight! Plus Ultra!”

Meis always had contagious energy to them and soon the entire arena was screaming.

“Get up! Fight! Plus Ultra! Get up! Fight! Plus Ultra! Get up! Fight! Plus Ultra!”

“All of you! Shut up! He’s down! I won! He’s down! Start the count!” Agro screamed but was lost under the chant.

Indestructible got up and dusted the dirt off his armor.

“… no.” Agro whispered.

Agro called for the power of his Quirk but a flash of pain sizzled it out. Five percent was all he could tap into if that. It was nowhere near enough to block Indestructible’s punches when he attacked. A single hit brought him to his knees. Before he could get up Indestructible grabbed his arm and threw him. One For All cushioned his fall but even a little damage started to be too much for him.

“… no.” Agro whispered when he tried to get back up.

Indestructible cracked his knuckles.

“I’m sorry. Care to repeat that? Who lost?”

***

“Wake up, dad!” Sagan screamed into his ear.

Indestructible’s eyes snapped open.

“… ugh… what the…?” 

“You got knocked out for a few seconds there. I covered for you, but you need to hurry. He won’t stay down for long.” Sagan said.

Agro had fought his way back up but… Indestructible didn’t need Sagan to tell him that the fight was as good as over. Agro’s breathing came out in pained gasps. His hands and legs were trembling, and he was hunched over like he’d pulled his back. Just seeing him raise his fists hurt.

“… come…” Agro panted.

“Agro…” Indestructible sighed: “Stop. You’ve lost. You’ll only get hurt.”

“I… can… still… fight… or are you… scared? … Deku?” Agro said.

Indestructible shook his head.

“Fine. Let’s finish this.”

He lunged Agro as fast as he could and took him to the ground. Agro was too weak to put up any kind of a fight and Indestructible trapped him in a chokehold. Getting knocked out fast would be a mercy. Agro tried to desperately break Indestructible’s hold but he was too weak. Far too weak. It wouldn’t be long until…

Agro grabbed Indestructible’s pinky. And twisted.

“Aah! Motherfucker!” Indestructible screamed.

He lost hold of Agro who crawled away. Indestructible squeezed his wrist in an attempt to stop the pain from spreading. His finger wasn’t supposed to bend like that. It hurt! So much! Sagan did a quick scan.

“Don’t worry. It’s not broken. Just dislocated.” Sagan said.

“Shit!” Indestructible cursed.

“You need to force it back into place.” Sagan said.

Indestructible took a few pained wheezes of air and prayed that the adrenaline would numb the worst of it. He grabbed his pinky and pulled it in the right direction. 

“Aah! Fuck you, Agro! Fuck you!” Indestructible cried.

Agro laughed the kind of pain laughter that creeped out when you were close to tears.

“The… the last one… to beat me like this… was Muscular.” Agro said.

Indestructible got up.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Agro said before wincing from the pain: “You… you didn’t beat him on your own… did you?”

Agro grinned through the pain.

“I did. Despite… oh fuck, this hurts… despite being one of the… weakest Izukus here. You… your pal Aphid… has a far better control of One For All then I do. Most of them do and then there’s Starburst…”

Agro spat out red snot.

“Yet… I still… beat Muscular. Damn near killed him… unlike you.”

“Was your Muscular possessed by the Sludge Villain?” Indestructible said annoyed.

“No… but even if he was… I would’ve beaten him. Last… chance to surrender… or I’ll beat you… like I beat him. Save yourself… the pain.” Agro said.

“Nice bluff. Let’s finish this.” Indestructible said.

Agro put up his hands in an open-handed boxing stance.

“Don’t say… I didn’t warn you.”

Indestructible attacked. One hit would end… 

Agro slapped him.

A sudden flash of pain shot through Indestructible’s shoulder and he crashed past Agro. There was a deep gash in his shoulder that reached all the way to his skin. Blood had begun to seep from the cut.

“What?!” Indestructible gasped.

That…! This was impossible! He… no one could just… break through his armor like that! No one! This was impossible! Impossible! Impossible! Imp…!

Agro slapped him in the back and it felt like he’d been struck by a steel whip. 

The pain was too terrible for him to stand and fight. All he could do was squirm in the ground. The agony had knocked his entire nervous system out of whack. Sagan was yelling him something… a strategy but… he couldn’t understand her. The only thing his mind had room for was the pain.

Suddenly, someone tore off his helmet and then started peeling off the rest of his armor and cast it aside.

“Wanna… have another round… without… the armor?” Agro panted.

***

“No! No! No!” Mei yelled: “Stop the match! He won! He…!”

Everything went down too fast for anyone to do anything and Agro peeled Izuku out of the armor. The crowd had gone quiet and Mei slumped back on the bench.

“… no. Sagan… Izuku…” Mei whispered.

The other Mei from TTVSMHA-18 put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Before Present Mic could declare Agro the winner, the wide screen over the stadium went dark. For a moment the Meis forgot about the match and looked at each other confused. That… that shouldn’t have happened. All their tech was designed to be failure proof and peer reviewed by the greatest minds in the multiverse. 

Then the wide screen turned back on… showing a Mei dressed as a… pirate? Black overcoat, eyepatch, hat, parrot and all.

“Oh… oh shit.” Mei muttered.

“What’s up bitches and bitchettes?! Guess who just broke out of a blackhole?!” Bitch Empress Mei said.

A dreadful silence fell over the stadium.

“That’s right, motherfuckers! Bitch Empress Mei has returned to reclaim her Ice Hole! And deal with you ingrates!” Bitch Empress Mei said and rubbed the head of her pet parrot while feeding it a cracker: “What do you think we should do to them, Mr. Peaks?”

“Corn.” The parrot quacked. 

“What’s that, Mr. Peaks? We should kill them all? You’re one hardcore gangster, Mr. Peaks, but if you say so.” Bitch Empress Mei said and laughed: “Sorry. I didn’t have time to teach him to say walk the plank. Which means throwing all of you fuckers into space.”

The head of the Council stood up and grabbed a mic.

“Mei.” The council head Mei said.

“Mei…? I think you forgot to call me your majesty.” Bitch Empress Mei said.

“Not doing that. Ever. What’s with the get-up?” The council head Mei said.

“The pirate theme is just the beginning of your punishment.” Bitch Empress Mei said.

“Doubling down on that, huh? Was the wi-fi in the blackhole really that bad?”

“Worse than bad. Almost as bad as you bastards using my Ice Hole. And without my permission!”

“Mei… for fuck sake. All we asked was that you stop being such a massive asshole.” The council head Mei said.

“No can do. I like being an asshole.” Bitch Empress Mei said and leaned back in her armchair: “So… ready to declare your unconditional surrender?” 

The council head Mei laughed.

“No. No we’re not. I don’t know what you’ve planned but it won’t work. We have the Tick.”

It was Bitch Empress Mei’s turn to laugh. 

“Did you hear that, Mr. Peaks. They think they have the Tick.” Bitch Empress Mei said and lifted her eyepatch revealing the cybernetic eye beneath it: “I spy with my little eye… a total dumbass! Who doesn’t have the Tick!”

***

The Tick was crying on his knees as his worst nightmare played around him in an endless loop. 

“No! Noo! This cannot be!”

Asuna Ikari looked around dumbfounded. Her Quirk Scaretale had tapped into the Tick’s most deeply buried and shameful fear that he tried to hide from even himself and… it had produced a regular nine-to-five white collar office.

Run by a man… with a chair for a head.

“Work harder! Work faster! With no bathroom breaks! Fill those forms and then prepare for your unpaid overtime!”

“Arthur! American Maid! Die Fledermaus! Sewer Urchin! What has that fiend done to you?!” The Tick cried.

Ikari looked around. Everyone in the office were… American superheroes. All of them had been forced to wear a white shirt and a tie on top of their hero outfits. Broken spirit glistened in their dead eyes. 

“Aphid!” The chair-faced man yelled.

One of the Dekus dressed in a white shirt and a tie… with his hero outfit stuffed under it like everyone else… crawled over to the chair-faced man.

“… yes, Mr. Chippendale?” 

“Fetch me coffee! Decaf! Extra cream but not too much! The kind that’s low on calories but it doesn’t affect the taste! A pinch of sugar and remember to make it salty! And one of those animal crackers I like!” The chair-faced man… Chippendale ordered.

“… yes, Mr. Chippendale.”

“Noo! He’s forced to fetch coffee! Chippendale! You monster!” The Tick screamed.

“So… uh… this is what you’re afraid of, huh? More than anything?” Ikari said.

The Tick grabbed her.

“We have to save them! We can’t let Chairface Chippendale get away with this!”

“Yeah. Let’s do that. We can’t let Chairface… oh my God. Is that actually his name?... keep doing this. He’s trapped them in an illusionary bubble. All you have to do is break it.” Ikari said and pointed into the direction of the Ice Hole’s outer wall: “It’s that way. Don’t let anyone stop you. Break through it. Save them.”

The Tick threw one more horrified look at his friends.

“Worry not, my friends! I will save you! For I am! Mighty!”

“Don’t let anyone stop you. Make mama proud.” Ikari said.

The Tick rushed off and Ikari waved him goodbye. 

When he was gone, Ikari headed to the stadium. She could feel it. A fragment of her Quirk from another world. Two of her children… another Ikari’s children were here. Soon, she would be their new mama. Using Scaretale she hid her presence ad entered the stadium. There were a lot of people there. She’d need a little help to control them all.

Ikari took out a syringe of Trigger and jammed it in her arm. Scaretale… soared. Sleep took over everyone in the arena.

Except the two Dekus whose fight they had all come to see.

“What… what is going on?” The victorious Deku said.

Ikari removed the glamour and let both Dekus get a good look at her smile. The terror made the trip worth it. 

“I think it’s time we finish your Thinking Room session, Deku.” Ikari said.


	5. I Want My Tears Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes are forced to live through their worst nightmares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Izukus appearing here besides Indestructible and Agro come from The Tick vs... MY HERO ACADEMIA! by bejammin2000 and My Name is Shimura by Nyarlathotep0307. Both are used by their respective authors permission. Give 'em a read. MNIS-Izuku will have more to do next time.

Aphid could never run away from the dream of that day in the park for long. Even after meeting the Tick it would still invade his nightmares when he wasn’t prepared. The people screaming and panicking around him. Dad picking him up and telling him to keep his eyes closed. It all happened so fast. Dad was telling him to hide and wait for the heroes to get there while he searched for people who’d need help.

Then dad fell down. His shirt stained red. And a monster in human skin stood over Izuku. He… it was looking at him with a smile full off teeth. The thing’s fingers ended in long talons that looked more like knives than claws. Wet with blood. The monster reached out and touched Aphid’s face lightly. 

"Hey, what's that behind yer ear?" 

The monster barely grazed him, but his touch still left cuts on Aphid’s face. 

"Oh, wait. It's nothin'!" The monster said and laughed: "Just like you!"

Just like you!

Just like you!

Just like you!

Aphid woke up covered in cold sweat… and then looked around. What was this place? The walls were padded and there were bars on the windows. Aphid looked at his hands. What… what was going on?! Where were all his muscles?! The scars on his knuckle were gone like he’d never thrown a punch in his life. He was thin as twig without a trace of athleticism. 

Aphid started banging on the door.

“What is this?! What’s going on?! Let me out!”

People were rushing towards his cell and… large nurses yanked the door open. Aphid tried to break past them and run but they were ready for him and wrestled him to the ground. He was so weak. Why was he this weak?! He’d pushed himself so far to be a suitable heir for All-Might’s Quirk! Aphid managed to struggle free for a moment and hit one of the nurses in the face. She fell backwards holding her eye. The other nurses doubled their efforts and pulled Aphid’s hands behind his back. Someone took out a syringe.

“No! Let me go!”

The syringe pierced his arm and Aphid drifted away. He floated in darkness for what felt like an eternity, neither fully asleep or awake.

“Izuku?”

It wasn’t easy but Aphid managed to force his eyes open and he saw… a tall, fit woman with her dark hair tied into a neat bun sitting next to his bed. She was wearing a white doctor’s coat and her eyes behind the glasses were dark… no. Pitch black.

“Feeling better?” The doctor said.

Aphid tried to get up and found himself strapped into his bed.

“Let me go!”

The doctor shook her head.

“I’m afraid that I can’t do that, Izuku. You had one of your episodes again and… you hurt one of our nurses. Badly.”

Aphid strained what little muscle he had and tried to break free from the bindings.

“Where’s Tick?! Where’s Mei?! What did you do to them?!”

“Tick? Oh, Izuku. This again? Izuku… how many times do we have to go through this? He’s not real. An imaginary friend you created to cope… with what happened to your father.” The doctor said and looked at him worried: “Do… you remember what happened to your mother?”

“Don’t… don’t play games with me!”

“I’m sorry Izuku, but we can’t let you drown in delusions. What happened to her? It was hard for her, wasn’t it? After your father died.”

“She got over it! I remember! I…”

What did he remember? His mind… was being pulled in so many different directions. Mom reeking of booze. Passed out on the couch. She wouldn’t wake up. Why wasn’t she waking up?!

“… no.” Aphid whispered.

“I’m sorry, Izuku.” The doctor said and checked her notes: “As for Mei… she’s partially the reason why you’re here. I’m sorry that there isn’t a nicer way to say this but… you’d been stalking her. When she started dating the boy… Bakugou… things got a bit heated.”

Aphid tried to shut her out. No! That wasn’t how it had gone! He’d saved Mei! Saved her! He’d been working with the Tick… Once again, his memories were being pulled in two different directions. Mei with Bakugou… Bakugou! Goddamn Bakugou! He’d been too angry to think straight. There had been a knife and…

“Do you still think that you are All-Might’s heir? That he gave you a Quirk?”

“Stop… stop talking.” Aphid pleaded. 

“If you are, you should have no problems breaking free.” The doctor said.

Aphid tried to summon his Quirk but… he couldn’t feel One For All. Why?! Why couldn’t he use his Quirk?!

“What did you do to my Quirk?!” Aphid screamed.

“You don’t have one, Izuku. You’re Quirkless.” The doctor said.

“No! All-Might…! He said I could be a hero! He gave me a Quirk!”

Aphid struggled and fought. He called One For All but no one answered. He begged for All-Might and Tick to help him but neither came. The doctor looked him with sadness and let him tire himself out. When he finally stopped trashing, she hugged him.

“It will be alright, Izuku. I won’t abandon you. We’ll get through this together. Mama is here.”

Aphid… Deku started crying and the doctor… mama held him tight.

“Are you ready to continue your session?” Mama said.

Deku nodded while tears and snot ran down his face.

“In our last session, you mentioned this… Terror. Tell me more about him.”

***

Izuku’s head hurt. It felt like someone had split it open. When the blood started pouring down his face, he realized someone nearly had.

“Ya awake?”

No!

Toga stood over him in a basement filled with her tools. When Izuku tried to speak… he realized he didn’t have his tongue anymore. His mouth filled with blood. Then he saw Mei… and what Toga had done to her. Somehow, she was still alive which might have been Toga’s greatest cruelty.

“Now, now, Indestructible. Ya can’t pass out on me yet. Mei-Mei was such a good sport about it.” Toga said and picked up power cutters: “Ya know… I think we should start working on yer fingers now. And when we’re done with ‘em…”

Toga glanced downwards.

“Once there ain’t anymore fingers… guess what I’m cutting off after that.”

Izuku screamed without a tongue.

***

Mom was having one of her bad days and… No. It was worse than usual.

“Why did I have to be cursed with a Quirkless freak like you?!”

Deku cowered in the corner of their small apartment and tried to avoid being hit by what ever mom threw at him.

“Disgusting…! Repulsive…! Freak…!” Mom bellowed.

Why? Why did he have to go through this?! It wasn’t his fault! He hadn’t asked to be born Quirkless! It wasn’t his fault! He’d just wanted to be a hero! One that would make mom proud! He never wanted to make mom angry! He never wanted to disappoint her! All he ever wanted was for mom and Himiko to be happy! He…

 _Who’s Himiko_ , Deku thought.

“Quirkless freak!”

A mug hit Izuku in the head and blood started dripping down his face. The sight of blood frenzied mom even more but Izuku barely noticed her anymore. Himiko? He knew that name but… from where? And… why did this all seem so familiar? Like… like he’d done this already? 

Then he remembered.

Mom finally ran out of things to throw at him and started wailing on him. When she slapped him, Agro bit down on her fingers as hard as he could and didn’t let go even when his teeth hit bone. The monster dressed as his mother screamed and Agro chomped down harder. Blood that wasn’t his own, filled his mouth. 

Agro pushed the mirage away and… he grew taller. Older. His weak body filled out with muscle and scars grew on his back. A constant reminder of the time Dabi had broken into his home. One For All started burning inside him. The impostor crawled on the ground, holding her bloody fingers.

“How could you do this to your own mother?! You monster!”

“You’re not my mother.” Agro said coldly: “Did you think the same trick would work on me twice? Did you, Ikari?!”

The impostor stopped screaming… and started laughing. The illusion of his mother faded, and a demon centipede filled the apartment. It coiled around Agro.

“I’m impressed, Deku. I never thought you were man enough to hurt your own mother.” Ikari said and chuckled: “Imagine… what I’ll do to her when we’re done here.” 

Agro broke free of Ikari’s hold and threw the centipede through the window. He leaped after it… but instead of landing on the street… Agro found himself in the middle of a labyrinth. 

“Where are you, Ikari?! Come out! Fight! Or are you afraid?! What’s wrong?! Are you only good for torturing children?!”

Ikari’s laughter echoed all around him in the maze. 

“There’s no fooling you, is there, Deku? Guess I’ll have to get creative.” 

Agro heard a scream. Cold dread made him shudder. 

“… no. Himiko! Stop! Let her go!”

Ikari laughed even louder.

“No. I won’t. Find her if you can but I’d hurry if I were you. Soon, there might be nothing left to save.”

Agro started running through the labyrinth, following Himiko’s screams.

***

The nightmare ended when mama pulled Himiko out of the Thinking Room. She fell on the cold floor and cried. Mama knelled next to her and brushed her hair.

“I know it’s hard, Himiko, but I do this for you. I do this because I love you. I just want you to be good.”

“… yes, mama.” Himiko said.

“Will you be good?” Mama said.

“… I will.” Himiko promised.

Mama smiled and hugged her.

“What did you see there? What did you dream of?”

“… I… dreamed that… I dreamt that I was in love.” Himiko said.

“Oh, Himiko.” Mama said and pulled her closer: “How could anyone love a monster like you? Only I can love you. You know that, right?”

Himiko started crying.

“… yes, mama.”

***

Deku told his doctor everything he knew about the Terror. Everything he’d made up. An ancient monster that walked like a man and had terrorized the world for centuries despite being nothing more than a mere mortal.

“And this man captured this… All For One?” The doctor said.

“… yes.” Deku admitted.

“You might be projecting. An ordinary person without any special powers taking down someone like… All For One.” The doctor said and smiled: “What would be the best way to… kill this Terror?”

“… only Tick could take him down.” Deku said.

“But he isn’t someone who could be controlled, is he?” The doctor said and wrote something down: “Unless…”

There was a knock on the door and the doctor… blinked. She was immediately on her feet and… something about her changed. All the maternal warmth faded and was replaced by something cold and grim.

“Who’s there?” The doctor said staring at the door.

The door opened and boy of Deku’s age stepped in. He looked like he’d just crawled out of bed after a sleepless night… and he was wearing a sparkly purple tuxedo.

“… Mister Quiz?” Deku gasped.

Was… was this another one of his episodes? Another hallucination. 

“Wait a minute! This isn’t the bathroom.” Mister Quiz said before eyeing the doctor: “But someone still dropped a huge turd on the floor.”

The doctor was always in control. She always knew what to do. She always had the answers but now… she was confused. Alarmed.

“… how did you get in here? Who are you?” The doctor said.

“Hitoshi Shinsou and I won’t bore you with the details of my miraculous escape but…” Shinsou said when he suddenly noticed what he was wearing and started laughing: “Sweet tapdancing Jiminy Christmas, Aphid! Is this what your Shinsou wears? Never thought I’d say this but… too gay.”

“… I… purple is considered very manly in my world.” Deku said.

Wait? His world? Why… No! Something was wrong. His mind was… clouded and not because of the drugs.

“Man, the other me must have so many stories about all the sex he didn’t get.” Shinsou said and snapped his fingers: “Aphid, I need you to wake up.”

A heavy mist was pushed out of Deku’s… Aphid’s mind and… he remembered. The doctor’s… Ikari’s eye was twitching. Aphid summoned One For All and tore himself free from the restraints. 

“What is this?” Ikari growled.

“Ooh, did I make you angry? I’m very good at that. Just ask lover boy.” Shinsou said and tapped his temple: “You’re not the only one here with mind fuck powers.”

Aphid lunged at Ikari and tried to punch her face in. An invisible force struck him, and the room exploded apart around them. Where Ikari had stood now loomed a giant, demonic centipede. The look suited Ikari. Only her black eyes remained the same. They were hard and glistening with malice. Shinsou helped Aphid back on his feet.

“Think you can mock a god, boy?” Ikari said.

“There’s another god besides me here? And I can do much worse.” Shinsou said and pointed behind Ikari: “Inko. Do your thing.”

“No!”

The lash of Ikari’s tail struck like a hurricane when she tried to swipe at something behind herself the wasn’t there. Shinsou was laughing hard enough to bend over.

“Made you look. Guess even you are afraid of something.”

“Shinsou…” Aphid whispered from the corner from his mouth: “Can we beat her?”

“No way in hell.” Shinsou said.

“Then we need to…” Aphid said.

“Run? Why? The fun is just about to start?” Ikari said and coiled around them.

“Wow. Are you gonna arrange me a threesome with Todoroki and Ashido?” Shinsou said.

“You’ll die screaming.” Ikari said.

“Man, my idea was better.” Shinsou said.

Aphid took a boxing stance.

“Run. I’ll hold her off.”

“Why? The plan is going great. Hey, Ikari. Did you know that crazy kid’s Quirk can be passed on?”

The centipede’s eyes widened when something terrible dawned on her.

“You…” Ikari growled.

“The spirits of the past wielders live on in the Quirk and there are so many crazy kids here. Guess who I invited to the party on the way here?”

The world might have been just an illusion, but Aphid still felt the ground shake when hundreds of feet stomped on it. 

Then he saw them. 

They stood in the horizon. An army of them. Aphid had never seen any of them but… he knew them. He could feel them. The past wielders of One For All. His predecessors. Gathered from every corner of the multiverse. The sight of them made Ikari hiss.

Then the past wielders rushed Ikari as one and she was washed away in wave of violence.

“Now we run!” Shinsou yelled.

“Shouldn’t we help them?” Aphid said.

“We are. We need to find Tick and wake him up before he breaks the outer wall and kills us all.” Shinsou said while they ran.

***

Asuna Ikari tried to ease the headache by rubbing her temples but nothing helped. She walked alone through the empty city fuming. When this was all over, she would peel that smug little bastard’s brain layer by layer. No one had suffered like he would. After Ikari had managed to calm herself down, she took out her phone.

“Empress.” Ikari said.

“Ikari.” The empress answered.

“There was another brainwasher among the prisoners. There have been… complications.” Ikari said.

“Iiis thaaaat sooooo?” The empress said in a sing-a-song voice.

“Afraid so.”

“And what are you planning to do about it? Or should I put on my bitch-tossing boots?” The empress said.

“I have it under control. I found an old friend trapped inside my little Himiko’s mind. He agreed to guard the Tick’s nightmare. They won’t get past him.” Ikari said.

“For your sake I hope so.” The empress said.

“No need to worry about me, your majesty. Besides, the Tick isn’t the only one they have to worry about.”

“Make me proud, my vizier. Or my twins won’t be the only ones who walk the plank.”

Ikari hung up. When the empress was no longer needed, she would enjoy breaking her in the Thinking Room. Ikari dove into Scaretale again and located the two villains Indestructible had summoned for support. Both had been a low-priority target and she hadn’t put much thought into their nightmares.

For the smaller one… Mustard… his worst nightmare took the shape of a school. A prep-school for Hero Courses. Finding Mustard wasn’t too difficult. All one had to do was follow the jeers.

“Fart-ass! Fart-ass! Fart-ass!” 

A young man with ash-blonde hair and a pretty, almost girly, face was being surrounded by bigger, stronger students led by a black-haired, handsome jock and forced to kiss the dirt while his enemies went through his things and read his private notes. As fears and nightmares went, it wasn’t particularly original, but it was still a primal horror that had broken many and left even more scarred. 

Eventually the bigger students got bored torturing someone who couldn’t fight back and left Mustard scrabbling his torn notes. But the nightmare went on. Mustard’s phone rang and Ikari was treated to a long call where Mustard’s parents listed all the ways he was a disappointment who should have never been born.

When Mustard had been reduced to tears all over again, Ikari made her move.

“Bad day, huh?”

Mustard glared at her eyes full of bitterness that could turn children into murderers. She probed Mustard’s mind with her Quirk for… keywords that would wind him up even more… and then set him loose.

“Come to laugh at me?” Mustard growled.

“I’ve come to help you. You look like a man in need of advice.” Ikari said and smiled: “Why don’t you ever… stand up for yourself?”

Mustard was even more unbalanced than he looked and Ikari was shocked how little it took to push him over the edge. Mustard did the impossible and managed to actually push her to the ground. His grip was weak but powered by a lifetime of rage.

“How! How am I supposed to do that?! I’m not even immune to my own Quirk!”

Ikari took her centipede form and pushed Mustard off herself. The sight of her, was enough to make Mustard soil himself.

“Never… lay a hand on me.” Ikari said and returned to her human shape: “I have a gift for you.”

Ikari leaned down and kissed the top of Mustard’s head. Mustard’s eyes widened.

“What did you…?”

“I gave you a new Quirk. Corrosive mist. That you are immune to.” Ikari said and looked after Mustards bullies “The leader of the bullies… Who was he?”

“Shindo.”

“Why don’t you go and show Shindo what happens when someone pushes you around?” Ikari said.

Mustard’s grin was full of rage and half-mad when he followed his tormentors. Ikari nodded approvingly and stepped into the Mustard’s partner’s nightmare. Spinner? Who actually called themselves that? The boy had to be a…

When Ikari saw Spinner’s nightmare… she stopped.

Inside Scaretale she was next to all-powerful. Even when she wasn’t giving someone her full attention, they should’ve been utterly helpless. 

Spinner wasn’t helpless here.

Spinner was dressed like the hero killer Stain and fighting a man in a bird mask in the ruins of a mansion while protecting a small albino girl with a horn growing out her forehead. He hadn’t been driven into a corner. He wasn’t learning all the ways he was helpless. Meaningless. Powerless. Spinner was fighting a demon summoned from his deepest fears… and winning.

A sword swing too fast for Ikari to see took out one of the bird mask’s arms and Spinner kicked him off his feet.

“What’s wrong, Overhaul? Not so tough when you’re facing a man?” Spinner said.

Ikari growled and gave Spinner all the attention he deserved. No matter how powerful Spinner’s will was, even he couldn’t fight the full force of Scaretale weighting him down. Soon it was Spinner lying on the ground missing an arm and a leg and the albino girl’s intestines were spread all over the mansion’s ruins. Spinner was howling in pain and despair while dragging his broken body towards the girl. 

Ikari knelled next to him and pulled Spinner into a hug.

“I am sorry.” Ikari said while cradling Spinner in his arms.

Spinner was howling in agony too terrible for words and calling the girl’s name. Eri.

“Help her! You have to help her!” Spinner begged.

“There’s nothing anyone can do for her now.” Ikari said and smiled: “You can only avenge her.”

Spinner looked at his missing limbs.

“How?! I can’t fight like this?!”

Ikari touched the stumps and gave Spinner his limbs back.

“Find Overhaul. Kill him.” Ikari said.

Ikari stepped out of Scaretale.

This was perfect. Even if her enemies managed to get past Tick’s threshold guardian, Mustard would also be there to destroy the outer wall. And if the fools tried to confront Tick in reality… well. Spinner would be waiting for them. Along with other surprises. 

***

Ikari’s Quirk was a maze and Aphid had to trust that Shinsou knew how to navigate it.

“How did you break free?” Aphid said while they ran.

“My Quirk makes me very resilient against brainwashing. Besides Ikari didn’t seem to put too much effort into breaking me.” Shinsou said and looked at his tuxedo: “Man, this thing is really growing on me.”

“Look, you don’t have to wear it. It was just some dumb joke Mei came up with.”

“Are you kidding me. I think I love it now. It really speaks of who I am.” Shinsou said.

“If you say so.” Aphid said when he heard crying.

He stopped and through the cracks in Scaretale… he could see one of his twins. None of his brothers were all that tall but this one was tiny even when compared to them and he had red eyes. He’d buried his face in his hands and was crying in long ugly sobs. His twin was surrounded by half disintegrated corpses. 

Aphid had already taken half a step towards his twin when Shinsou put his hand on his shoulder.

“We have to help him.” Aphid said.

“No time. If Tick breaks the outer wall, we’re all dead.” Shinsou said.

“But…”

“We might have just minutes if even that.”

“He needs help!” Aphid yelled.

Shinsou’s bemused grin turned into an ugly scowl.

“You think I don’t know that?! My friends are trapped in here too! What do you think is being done to them?!”

Aphid got ready to brush Shinsou aside but… the pain in Shinsou was too real and… he was right. They had to stop Tick. Aphid looked at the nightmare realm he’d been trapped in. What kind of prison was Mei locked in. 

“Let’s go.” Aphid said with a heavy heart.

As they ran, Aphid kept glancing at Shinsou.

“Why did you come to save me?”

“The same reason I’m wearing the tux. It’s easier to break someone out of brainwashing with something familiar and you’re his ward.”

Aphid nodded and followed Shinsou until they heard… music? Was someone playing a guitar? And singing? 

“Go son, go down to the water  
And see the women weeping there  
Then go up into the mountains  
The men, they are weeping too  
Father, why are all the women weeping?  
They are weeping for their men  
Then why are all the men there weeping?  
They are weeping back at them  
This is a weeping song  
A song in which to weep  
While all the men and women sleep  
This is a weeping song  
But I won't be weeping long.”

Aphid had never heard playing like it. No one could attain such skill in a single lifetime. It was mesmerizing and… also terrifying. No human should be able to play like that. The sound had made Shinsou turn pale.

“Oh no. No! Not him.”

Shinsou stopped running and he had to force himself to walk. 

“What is it?” Aphid said.

“What indeed? Come on, Shinsou. Don’t keep him guessing.” A strange voice said. 

A handsome man in a black suit with a guitar strapped into his back was walking towards them. His grin was friendly and boyish… and utterly insincere. 

“You boys are far from home.” The man said and looked at Aphid: “What a pity. I was hoping you’d bring Izuku-Izuku. I would’ve loved to see him again. I have so much to repay him for.”

Shinsou started retreating.

“We need to go.” He whispered. 

“Go? Didn’t you come here for the Tick? He’s right behind me and what horrors he is enduring. Asuna overdid herself. Aren’t you going to save him? You’re surprisingly spineless for someone who dares to wear a tuxedo like that, Hitoshi.”

“Who are you?” Aphid said.

“Oh? We haven’t met in your world? Or maybe I didn’t have a face when we did.” The man said and did a small bow: “Who am I? All For One. That’s who I am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song All For One is playing is The Weeping Song by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.


	6. Now We Fight Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes begin their counter-attack.

The empress watched as one the eldritch-Izukus was being loaded into its new cage. Scaretale had made the little monsters go wild just like she had hoped they would but even then, they couldn’t break out of their cages. They had been designed by her after all. Even through the monitor she could smell the reek of the psychosphere. Studying these abominations would be its own reward and once she’d had enough fun… maybe drop them on an inhabited planet that didn’t understand why she should rule it.

“Oh, the fun we’ll have.” The empress hummed to herself. 

The empress sat on her throne and scratched Mr. Peaks’s head while looking dreamily at the statue in the middle of the Ice Hole. The next one would be bigger. Soon, they would be done here. She would have all the Meis and Izukus she needed then all that was left to do was for the Tick to punch a hole in the outer wall and… clean the place up of vermin. 

It was a pity it meant losing the Tick.

That… thing? Creature? God? Whatever the Tick was, it was a prize all of its own. So much power but… power she couldn’t control was no power at all. Better throw it into space with the rest of the trash. Even if the vacuum didn’t kill it… well… she doubted the Tick would enjoy being stuck in the void. All alone. Without light or oxygen. Lightyears away from the closest inhabited planet. 

But it wasn’t just the Tick that bothered her. There was the Tick’s archenemy. This… Terror. How could a mortal man fight a god? Or was this just one the Tick’s insane whimsies? Had he spotted some old man in the park and during another psychotic breakdown convinced himself that he was the ultimate evil of his world? But Aphid had also wet his pants at the mention of this Terror. 

The empress checked her watch. She had time to spare.

“Computer. Scan Aphid’s world. The code is… TTVSMHA-18. Pinpoint me this Terror.” The empress said. 

The most powerful computer in the multiverse… aside from the brain inside the empress’s skull got to work. It slid through multiverses… through TTVSMHA-13… 14… 15… 16… 17… until finally arriving at TTVSMHA-18. After that it was easy to locate where this old man that haunted Aphid’s nightmares lurked. 

Seeing the Shi Hassaikai mansion on the monitor was a surprise. She peered deeper inside the mansion… and she was surrounded by an uneasy energy. Overhaul was a man who caused fear… in others at least. She should know. She had killed three. But this… this was something different. Everyone in the mansion was peeking over their shoulders. Sneaking around as quietly as they could. Flinching at shadows. Even Overhaul in his study looked… browbeaten. 

“Now, isn’t this mystery wrapped inside an enigma, Mr. Peaks?” The empress said.

“Corn!” Mr. Peaks answered. 

Even this world’s Eri was off. She was sitting in the yard alone and surrounded by toys that she paid no attention to. She was lost in thought and for the first time the empress saw an Eri who wasn’t scared of her own shadow. What was she scheming?

“Don’t you know it is rude to barge in without knocking?”

The empress jumped back in her chair and sent Mr. Peaks flying. With one panicked move she turned the camera… and the monitor was filled by an old man’s face. This was impossible! No one should be able to see through the cloaking devices! 

The man was old… and ugly to boot. The kind of guy whose breath smelled of stale coffee and cheap cigarettes… but there were strong muscles under the wrinkled skin and… he seemed… bigger somehow. Much bigger than he should’ve been. 

“How did you…?”

“You’re not the first invisible visitor I’ve dealt with.” The old man… the Terror said and peered into her through the monitor. 

Eri turned to look at Terror.

“Who are you talking to?” Eri said.

The Terror flashed her a row of yellow teeth shaped like tombstones. 

“No one. An absolute nobody. Go back to scheming.”

The empress’s cheek twitched.

“What did you just call me?”

“A nobody… empress. Empires come and go but I just paddle along.” The Terror said.

The empress started laughing.

“Oh, you senile old fart. You have a nice planet. I think I’ll take it when I’ve finished cleaning up my Ice Hole.” 

“How very hygienic of you and you’re right. It is a nice planet. And it is mine. Go back to your own world. This one belongs to me.” The Terror said before doing the impossible again and shutting off the feed.

The empress and Mr. Peaks were left staring at the dark monitor. Mr. Peaks turned slowly to stare at her mistress.

“You’re on your own, lady.” Mr. Peaks said before flying off.

The empress let her old pet fly off and sunk deeper into her throne.

“I guess… the multiverse isn’t big enough for the two of us, Terror.”

***

The All For One Aphid knew had been a shadow of his former self. A broken wretch strapped on life support but even then… the pressure had frozen Aphid in place. Even while wounded All For One had been able to fend off Tick and All-Might. This one… this All For One wasn’t on life support and his face wasn’t a scarred nightmare but that grin… no matter the world, All For One’s grin stayed the same. A cat playing with a baby bird would smile like that. That grin fit a universe’s worth of pettiness, spite and indulgence in it. 

Shinsou backed away slowly.

“Shouldn’t you… uh… shouldn’t you be dead?” Shinsou said.

“I live on in the lass’s Quirk.” All For One said before looking at Aphid: “Who is this?”

Aphid tried to keep his voice even. Never show fear. Never show how scared you were. Always be ready to bluff. 

“Aphid.”

All For One nodded and tucked a few tunes out of his guitar.

“Oh, yes. Your master… this Tick mentioned you a few times. He begged us to take you in his stead.” All For One said.

Aphid’s knuckled cracked when he clenched his fist. All For One’s grin grew wider.

“Did that make you angry? You see what a man is really like when he’s afraid. Guess I know your master better than you do.” All For One said.

Forgetting about everything Aphid threw himself at All For One. If All-Might could beat him, so could he! He was All-Might’s heir! The One For All that had been passed on to him should be even more powerful than the one All-Might had used to beat All For One! 

The first punch staggered All For One. The next made him gag. The third one brought him down to one knee. Yes! He could do this! He could…!

All For One slammed him into the ground. All of this was a… dream. An illusion. The impact still rattled his brain and blew the wind out of him. He tasted blood. 

“Sto…!” Shinsou yelled but not fast enough.

All For One’s fingers wrapped around Shinsou’s throat and he was pulled off his feet.

“Boys, boys, boys. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were fucked.” All For One said.

***

It wasn’t easy. In many ways it was even harder than surviving all those years after he’d been diagnosed Quirkless… No! After All For One had stolen his Quirk! Those dark hopeless days were nothing compared to the labyrinth that Ikari had built for him, but he hadn’t given up then and he wouldn’t give up now.

Agro survived and he pushed forward.

He kept going until he was out of the labyrinth and back in the waking world. The look on Ikari’s evil face alone made it all worth it.

“Impossible!” Ikari gasped and for once it was her turn to be scared.

Before she could pull off any of her usual tricks Agro was on her. He let the full force of One For All flow through him and his punches turned Ikari into red mist. He stood over what little of her remained red-handed and panting. The nightmare was over and finally the strain of what felt like years of wandering through hell washed over him… under Ikari’s Quirk it might have actually been years but that didn’t mean he could rest.

“Himiko!”

Agro ran past the waking dreamers and found Himiko in the stands. Dazed. Confused. Scared. She looked at him with tears in her eyes.

“… Izuku-Izuku?”

Agro pulled her into a hug. He hugged her as tightly as he dared not caring about his twinners gawking at them.

“It’s over. She can’t hurt you anymore. No one will hurt you ever again. I won’t let them.” Agro said and realized he was crying with her.

“… Izuku-Izuku… I don’t wanna do this anymore! I don’t wanna die!”

The tears blinded him.

“I love you!”

“I love ya too!”

The empress was no match to them with Ikari gone. The freed Tick made short work of her and the after-victory party lasted for a week. When it was time to go home Himiko turned herself in without a fight. Whatever charges might have been raised against her folded when All-Might flexed his muscles. The League of Villains even returned Eri and promised to leave them alone. There seemed to be no end to his good luck and a week later Bakugou was eaten by hyenas. After two years he graduated top of his class and started an agency with Shouto. Himiko went into acting and proved to be a master of the craft and… and… 

And none of it had happened.

Agro fell on his knees in the labyrinth built inside Ikari’s Quirk when he realized the last five years had just been another illusion. His eyes burned and his voice was ragged.

“How dare you?! How dare you show me that?!” Agro screamed.

All he could hear was Ikari’s laughter.

“Strange isn’t it? You can shake off misery, but happiness brings you on your knees. What do you say we make a deal? Give up and you can spend the rest of your short life inside that delusion.” Ikari’s voice echoed all around him.

“Go to hell!” Agro screamed.

He stumbled back on his feet. He had to keep going. He had to find Himiko. Stop Ikari. Save Himiko… no. Not just her. Save everyone. He had to… he had to…

So tired.

Agro fell but before he hit the ground powerful arms caught him. 

“Hello, young Izuku.”

“… All-Might?”

No. Not All-Might. It was All-Might’s shade. One of many he had inherited with One For All. Or… was he? What if this was just one of Ikari’s tricks? Just another ploy to break him.

Agro mustered all the strength he no longer had left and pushed the shade away.

“Stay back.” Agro panted.

“Okay.” The shade said.

The shade sat down and… shrunk. Like the real All-Might would. He shrunk to his real haggard form. The one he only showed to people he trusted. Agro hadn’t known All-Might’s shade could do that.

“We should talk, young Izuku.” All-Might’s shade said.

“… huh?”

“I said we should talk. I’m worried.”

Agro blinked. What was going on? Was this… maybe this wasn’t just another trick but something else. Or maybe that was what Ikari wanted him to believe! He wouldn’t be fooled again! Never again!

“Move.” Agro growled.

The impostor sighed.

“Izuku. Please…”

“I said move!” Agro roared.

He tried to punch his way through the impostor. The shade opened its arms… and pulled him into a hug.

“It’s alright, Izuku. You know why? Because now I’m here.”

The shade… All-Might’s shade… felt warm. And real. Strong. He could feel the connection they shared through One For All… and through shared history. 

“… All-Might…”

“Yeah. It’s me. When did you become so stubborn?”

Agro took his hand.

“… please… help me… we… we have to find Himiko.”

All-Might smiled sadly.

“You won’t find her here. There’s nothing at the end of this maze. Ikari is just playing with you. You know it too.” All-Might said and looked around: “That witch outdid herself. Even I got lost looking for you.”

He… he couldn’t breathe. Himiko… was there somewhere and he couldn’t help her! He’d promised her! He’d promised himself! He’d promised no one would ever hurt her like this again! He’d promised and he’d failed!

A strong hand touched his shoulder. 

“It will be alright, Izuku.” All-Might said.

Agro brushed All-Might’s hand away. 

“No, it won’t! Why won’t you help her?! Why won’t anyone help her?! None of you want to save her! You all just call her a monster and leave her to die! What am I supposed to do?! Abandon her like all of you did?!”

All-Might rubbed his hand.

“You think we’ve abandoned her? Or you? No one has given up yet. We’re still fighting and there are more of us. Toga is still fighting too. You know she is. And what are you supposed to do? Be the good man I know you can be. The one you haven’t been lately.”

Agro looked up and… it wasn’t disappointment in All-Might’s face… no. Yes, it was but All-Might wasn’t disappointed in him. Just himself. Mostly he was saddened. 

“I’ve been watching Izuku and… this isn’t you. Hurting a fellow hero like that. Trying to kidnap a child from her parents. This isn’t the hero I know. This isn’t the person you want to be.”

Agro tried to say… something. Anything. How he didn’t have a choice. How this was the only option he had left. All of it sounded false before he could even mutter it.

“… I don’t want her to die.” Agro said.

“I know you don’t and you’re not the only one. I’m here. The real me. Your mother too. And you have the combined brainpower of all the Meis in the multiverse. They love a challenge.” All-Might said.

“… All-Might… it’s so hard… I… how did you do it? How could you always be strong?”

All-Might smiled.

“Izuku, you are far stronger than you know.”

Agro fell quiet before wiping his eyes and looking around.

“I have to go. There… there are other… Izukus here that I need to wake up.” Agro said.

“I guess I’ll have to do the same.” All-Might said.

After one final hug they went their separate ways. Agro wasn’t any less tired but for some reason it didn’t bother him anymore. His mind felt clear. Clearer than it had in a long time. He ignored the labyrinth that Ikari had built to trap him and tried to hear cries for help. There was no shortage of them in Scaretale. 

He didn’t have to run far.

He’d never heard cries like that. Only people… without tongues could scream like that. Following the cries led Agro to a steel door. The kind that locked from the inside. One For All filled his limbs and he tore it off its hinges. 

He stopped when he saw what was inside. 

Himiko… no. Toga that he didn’t know was standing over what little remained of Indestructible and Hatsume. She was covered in blood and her tools were well worn. There was a moment of confusion on the nightmare-Toga’s face when she saw him but soon recognition hit her.

“Wassup, Izuku-I…”

A single hit drove the nightmare away. 

“Never call me that. Not you.” Agro said. 

Once he’d stopped shaking Agro examined the damages. He’d been taught how to treat wounded and try to calm them down but… nothing in his training had prepared him for this. He tried not to look too closely at the nightmare-Toga’s handiwork. 

“Don’t… uh… don’t worry, Hatsume. This is just an illusion. She… er… she didn’t really cut off your… or your… You know what. Let’s just get you out of here.”

Agro picked both Indestructible and Hatsume up and carried them out of their personal nightmare. When they left the steel chamber what had been cut off grew back. It didn’t make either of them feel much better. Hatsume was lying on her knees spitting out bile and crying. Indestructible was just crying. Agro shuddered to think of the damage that Ikari had done to their psyches. 

What was he supposed to do?

He made a quick assortment and decided that Hatsume was the one with the backbone in the duo. He knelled next to her.

“Hatsume. I… I need you to calm down.” Agro said.

“Calm down? I don’t think that will work.” 

Agro jumped on his feet and put up his fist when he saw Ikari approaching them. She’d dropped all pretenses of being human and had assumed her giant centipede form. The shape of her soul.

“I think you’re ready for your final Thinking Room session. Something a bit more… primal than usual.” Ikari said.

The labyrinth changed and… Agro was a child again.

A five-year-old child whose Quirk had just awakened. A Quirk that allowed him to control green fire. A combination of his parents Quirks but far more powerful than either of theirs. Kacchan tried to play it cool but they both knew his explosion Quirk was nowhere near as powerful as Izuku’s. 

They walked deep into the woods where there were no prying eyes of adults and started testing what their Quirks could and couldn’t do. Hours felt like minutes and they lost themselves in dreams of future adventures.

They heard slow clapping.

Two grown-ups were standing at the edge of the clearing. A man and a woman. The man was tall and looked like a movie star. He had short black hair and a dark suit. The woman was tan and fit. The only mark of age on her was a skunk stripe on her dark hair.

Izuku felt twinkling in his stomach and cold sweat started dripping down Kacchan’s face. Someone had seen them. They’d get into trouble. They wouldn’t be allowed to be heroes.

“Don’t stop for our sake, boys.” The man said.

“We weren’t…” Kacchan stuttered.

“Playing with your Quirks? No need to explain. What’s the point of having super powers if you don't use them?” The man said and bowed: “You can call me Sensei. This lovely lady here is Asuna Ikari.”

“You flatter me, All For One.” Ikari said.

“Just accept the compliment. And call me Sensei.”

“I refuse to do that.” Ikari said with a smile.

“I’ve seen you on TV.” Izuku said to the woman.

“Have you now? Hear that All For One? I’m famous.” Ikari said.

“You run the orphanage for children of villains.” Izuku said.

“Clever boy.” Ikari said.

“We should just throw them in jail with their parents. They’ll just turn bad like their parents.” Kacchan said.

“Judgmental, are we? I like you blonde one.” All For One said.

“No one is born bad.” Izuku said.

“An optimist. You remind me of my favorite. Toga. I’m sure the two of you would get along swimmingly. She’s a very cute girl.” Ikari said.

Kacchan grabbed Izuku’s hand in a bang of jealousy.

“He’s with me.”

“These two are adorable, All For One. I’d love to take them back with me.” Ikari said.

“We have parents.” Kacchan said.

“I could arrange something. Couldn’t I, All For One?” Ikari said.

“Why do you call him, that? All For One. Is he… a hero? Is that his hero name?” Izuku said in hushed tones.

“Maybe. You like heroes?” All For One said.

“Yes! All Might is the best. I already have hero names ready for when I become a pro. Might Boy. All Might Junior. Little Might. All-Might Boy.” Izuku said.

“Is he now?” All For One said.

Kacchan started dragging Izuku with him.

“We need to get home. Our parents are waiting for us.”

All For One blocked their path.

“Why the rush, boys? Ikari. I’ve made up my mind. I’ll take the All Might fanboy’s Quirk.” All For One said.

“… what?” Izuku said.

“Why not both?” Ikari said.

“Two Quirkless kids would be… suspicious.” All For One said and then he tore off some of Izuku’s hair and… ate them.

The effect was immediate. Izuku fell on his knees and stared at his hands.

“My… Quirk? Why… can’t I feel it?”

Green fire formed in All For One’s hand.

“It’s not your Quirk anymore, boy.”

Izuku turned to look at Kacchan with tears in his eyes.

“Kacchan?”

Explosions tore at All for One’s suit.

“Give it back!” Kacchan roared.

All For One just laughed.

“I could but won’t. Ikari. Do your thing.”

“With pleasure, All For One.” Ikari said.

Ikari stepped closer to them and… the woman disappeared. What took her place was a monster. A demonic centipede with red skin. It was taller than the trees and it circled around them. Squeezing them. Crushing them.

“You have very nice Quirks, children. Or had in the All-Might fanboy’s case. Mine is nice too. I call it Scaretale.” The centipede said.

“I don’t want them to remember a goddamn thing. Find out who else knows about the boy’s Quirk. Then we’ll make some house calls.” All for One said.

Izuku… Agro tried to remember something. Something important! He had to remember it or everything was over! He had to! He…

Agro was a child again.

A five-year-old child whose Quirk had just awakened.

***

All For One guarded the Tick’s nightmare and waited. He killed time by playing his guitar. He didn’t have to wait long. He felt Ikari long before he saw her and got up to welcome her. This Ikari was younger than the one from his world but she carried herself with the same composure. 

“Asuna.” All For One said.

“Akira.” Ikari said.

“Care to have a seat?” All For One said.

“I’d love to. I’ve been busy.” Ikari said and created them two chairs and a table. 

Full teacups appeared from thin air. Ikari took a sip of her tea and looked around.

“Did you have visitors?”

“One of the Dekus broke through with a mind controller. I dealt with them both.” All For One said.

“Thank you and sorry for making you do grunt work like this.”

“In this line of business is good to get your hands dirty every once in a while. Otherwise you lose your touch.” All For One said.

“I know.” Ikari conceded and smiled: “I’d like to continue our discussion from earlier.”

“I’m all ears, my dear.”

“The empress has to go.” Ikari said.

“Naturally.” 

“We could do it together.” Ikari said and put down her teacup: “Once I’ve broken Toga, I will take All For One for myself. I’ll… we’ll live forever and take over the multiverse. One world at a time until we are all that is left. How does that sound?”

All For One raised his cup.

“Asuna. That sounds like a plan.”

***

Agro was a child again.

A five-year-old child whose Quirk had just awakened…

Agro was a child again.

A five-year-old child whose Quirk had just awakened…

Agro was a child again.

A five-year-old child whose Quirk had just awakened…

It felt like he had gone through this same thing a thousand times but every time he was on the verge of remembering something important the loop would begin anew.

Agro was a child again.

A five-year-old child whose Quirk had just awakened…

“Crazy kid!”

Agro opened his eyes slowly… and saw Shinsou.

“Guys! He’s not waking up! I think I have to give him mouth to mouth!” Shinsou said panicked. 

“Back off, Shinsou.” Agro said and sat up.

“You wouldn’t say no if it had been lover boy.” Shinsou said.

“Probably.” Agro agreed.

Shinsou wasn’t alone and behind him were Aphid, Indestructible and Hatsume. Indestructible and Hatsume had managed to cam down but… both looked lost. Confused.

“You two okay?” Agro said.

“I… yeah. I just… it feels like I’ve forgotten something.” Hatsume said.

Aphid turned his gaze and Shinsou’s eyes darted. It lasted only for a moment but Agro noticed.

“What did you do?” Agro whispered.

“Ikari hit them hard. I… had to cut out the entire memory.” Shinsou said.

“I… was having a nightmare.” Indestructible said and looked at Agro: “Or was it a… memory? I… I had a green fire Quirk and All For One… took it.”

“Yeah.” Agro agreed.

“That was… yours?” Indestructible said.

Agro didn’t say anything. Indestructible bowed his head.

“I’m sorry.”

“Indestructible… I’m sorry too. About how… I’ve acted and… what I’ve said. I’m sorry about Sagan. I’m calling the bet off.” Agro said.

Hatsume slapped Indestructible in the back of the head. 

“This moron shouldn’t have bet her off in the first place.”

“I already said I was sorry.” Indestructible whined.

“If you’re mom sold you off, would an apology cut it?” Hatsume said.

“Mom wouldn’t sell me off!” Agro, Indestructible and Aphid yelled in unison. 

“Wow, wow, wow. Chill. We’re all friends here.” Shinsou said and crossed his arms: “We have a problem.”

“We… we couldn’t get to the Tick.” Aphid said bitterly: “He was being guarded by All For One.”

Agro flinched. Of course. Transferred Quirks came with a shade of the previous wielder. Leave it to Ikari to dig that monster out.

“How did you escape?” Hatsume said.

“We didn’t. He let us go. He said he wanted to make a deal.” Aphid said.

“A deal?” Indestructible said appalled.

“Yeah.” Shinsou said and pulled out a phone to make a call: “We’re here.”

Shinsou put the call on loudspeaker and Agro heard the voice of a dead man. 

“Hello, Izuku-Izuku. How’s my favorite Deku?” All For One said.

Indestructible and Hatsume jumped back when they heard the voice. Agro was frozen in place. 

“All For One.” Agro growled.

“What’s wrong? You don’t sound happy to hear from me? Problems in paradise?” All For One said.

Hatsume grabbed the phone like it was All For One’s throat.

“What do you want?” Hatsume said.

“I thought Shinsou and the other Deku told you. I want to make a deal.” All For One said.

“Why?” Agro said.

“Because we both want the same thing. To get rid of Ikari.” All For One said: “She wants my Quirk but… I’d rather take my chances with the lass. I’m not spending the rest of eternity as Ikari’s pet.”

Agro stared at the phone… and started laughing. The others looked at him like he’d gone finally crazy. You could hear All For One’s displeasure from the other end of the line.

“What’s so funny?” All For One said.

“You’re afraid of her.” Agro said.

Icy silence fell on the other end of the line.

“Watch it, Deku.” All For One said.

“You created a monster you couldn’t control. Tell me. Did you ever visit her orphanage yourself? Or were you too afraid that she’d stick you into a Thinking Room?” Agro said.

“Agro. Shut it.” Hatsume said and held the phone tighter: “Do you have a plan?”

“Yes.” All For One said coolly: “I can’t let you get to the Tick from here. Ikari has one eye on him at all times but I can wake you up. You have to get to the Tick in the waking world.”

“We also have to deal with the empress… and she worries me more than Ikari.” Hatsume said and thought for a moment: “I’ll do it, but I’ll need help. Can you… fuck me… can you wake up Iceberg Pink?”

“Mei.” Aphid said quietly: “Please.”

“And Aphid’s Mei?” Hatsume said.

“I can.” All For One said.

“Then do it.” Hatsume said.

“Not so fast.” All For One said and you could hear the joy in voice: “What do you say when someone does you a favor?”

Hatsume clenched the phone tighter.

“Fine. Th…”

“Not you. Izuku-Izuku.” All For One said.

Agro closed his eyes and thought about Himiko.

“… thank you, All For One.” Agro said.

“You’re welcome, Izuku-Izuku.”

The dream ended.

Agro woke up in the stadium next to Indestructible. He didn’t stay to help Indestructible on his feet and rushed to the stands. He found Himiko sitting alone. Far from everyone else. Even when asleep she looked like she was fighting for her life against an enemy only she could see. Her muscles were twitching, and her breathing came out way too fast. Half formed yelps and cries escaped her lips.

Agro hugged her and prayed that she could hear him.

“I won’t leave you. I won’t ever leave you. I’ll get you out. Just… just wait a bit longer. I’ll come for you. I swear.” Agro promised. 

***

The empress killed time before she could get back to killing people by trying to master the cat’s cradle. The results were less than satisfying. No cat and no cradle. She threw the rubber band away annoyed.

“False advertising fuckers.” The empress muttered when the computer informed her about problems.

The screen turned on to show her that a few Midoriyas had managed to escape Scaretale. 

“Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to grow a pair.” The empress said and chuckled: “Computer. Release the Heys.” 

***

“Stay safe. Please.” Aphid said to his Mei before they parted ways.

“Don’t worry. I have a badass bodyguard with me.” Mei said and glanced at Shinsou who was talking to Agro and Iceberg Pink.

Indestructible was saying his own goodbyes to Hatsume. They even hugged. It was strange seeing their mirror images hug so… platonically. 

“Oh. We can do better than that.” Mei said and pulled him into a kiss.

“Still gross!” Hatsume yelled.

“No one asked for your opinion!” Mei shot back.

Aphid watched the three Meis and one Shinsou go, wondering if he’d ever see them again. Part of him wished he could just put Mei in a spaceship and send her somewhere far away where she’d be safe but… no place in the multiverse would be safe from the empress if they failed. Or Ikari. He didn’t know which one was worse.

“We should move.” Aphid said.

“Just a second.” Indestructible said and looked at the armor that Agro had torn off during their fight.

The armor flew back on Indestructible and covered him in green steel. Most of him anyway. The parts covering his left arm and right leg had been too badly damaged to be usable. 

“Can you fight like that?” Agro said.

“This just makes things interesting.” Indestructible said.

They headed out of the stadium into the empty Ice Hole. It had always been bustling with life but seeing it now… so quiet was eerie. Just plain wrong. 

It didn’t stay quiet for long. He could hear them from afar. The stomping of feet.

“Hey! Hey! Hey!”

“Oh… no.” Aphid said.

“What the…” Indestructible said.

“Are those… bunny men?” Agro said.

“Heys.” Aphid said.

Indestructible turned to stare at him.

“… what?”

“A species of nihilists. They believe in nothing. Nothing!” Aphid said.

“Adorable.” Agro said wryly.

“Also, they almost destroyed my universe once.” Aphid said.

Indestructible and Agro looked at the Heys… differently. 

One of the Heys who seemed to be the leader approached them. The leader cleared his throat.

“Uhm. Hey, hey, hey.” The leader said and pointed at Indestructible: “Hey! Hey! Hey, hey, hey!”

“What? What is he saying?” Indestructible said.

“I can translate that. I know a little Hey.” Sagan said through Indestructible’s armor: “Let’s see… He said he’ll punch a hole in your chest and use it as a nest for his eggs.”

“… oh.”

“Their alien ways are repulsive.” Agro said.

“Racist.” Sagan said.

“Hey!” Agro said insulted.

“Hey?” The leader Hey said. 

“We don’t have time for this. Sagan. Tell them to move. I’m Tick’s apprentice. They should remember him.” Aphid said.

“Sure.” Sagan said: “Hey, hey, hey. Hey! Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey!”

Sagan’s translation wasn’t as tactful as Aphid would’ve liked and the leader took exception. He let out then most ferocious Hey Aphid had ever heard and turned to his followers.

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” The leader yelled.

“He told them to stab us full of holes and then fu…” Sagan said.

“We get it!” Aphid said.

The Heys rushed them and they seemed to be aiming specifically at Agro. In response Agro just hit one of the Heys with the closest thing he could reach. Another Hey.

“Aphid! We’ll hold them off! Find Tick!” Indestructible yelled.

“But…”

“Do it!”

He felt like a coward, but Aphid left his twinners fight the battle without him. All he could do now was finish this quickly. When Tick was free the empress or Ikari wouldn’t stand a chance. And Mei would be safe. Following Tick’s trail wasn’t hard. He’d picked the straightest path which had sometimes meant going through a building. He could almost see his mentor. Just a bit…

Aphid wasn’t sure what it was exactly. Maybe his predecessors experience had rubbed on to him. Or the experience was his own. Or maybe One For All had powers he didn’t know about yet. Whatever it was, it told him to dodge and Aphid did, saving him from getting decapitated. 

For a moment he thought it was Stain. Empress could have easily nabbed a few of them on her way here. The pressure he felt was the same. Then he saw Spinner. The one Indestructible had brought in as a cheerleader. The look on his face was murderous but his eyes were clouded. The poor soul was still in Ikari’s clutches.

Aphid sighed and took a boxing stance. Spinner raised his sword. It was a minor distraction, but he didn’t have time even for minor inconveniences. If this Spinner was indeed Indestructible’s equal, he was no threat to Aphid. The armor was impressive, but it couldn’t match One For All. Agro had proven that. 

Before Spinner could make a move, Aphid spear tackled him and took him to the ground. A few solid blows would take him out and…

Dozens of needles pierced Aphid’s skin. He let out a pained yelp and jumped off Spinner. Tiny spikes had popped out of Spinner’s scales and punctured Aphid’s skin. The cuts weren’t deep and more of an annoyance than painful. Spinner picked up his sword and… ran off. Aphid was left staring after him.

“Uh… Yeah! You better run!” Aphid yelled after him.

Normally he would’ve followed Spinner, but Tick took priority. The puncture wounds weren’t serious enough for him to bother with and he started running.

He took a few steps and threw up.

Hot sweat ran down his face while he shivered from the cold. His hands were shaking so badly he could barely make a fist. He felt like throwing up again. Fearing for the worst he lifted his shirt and examined the wounds Spinner had left him. The skin around the puncture wounds had turned green.

“Oh… no.” Aphid said.

Spinner jumped at him again from the shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a swell weekend everyone. Next chapter will be for SISBI... maybe.


End file.
